


KRMN, Volume 1

by Medianoki



Series: KRMN [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Action/Adventure, Destiny, Family, Fan Story, Gen, Original Characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Medianoki/pseuds/Medianoki
Summary: The world of Remnant is filled with monsters, hatred, and violence. But, most importantly, it’s also filled with love.When young, silver-eyed Faunus, Murasaki Chuya is left completely forgotten by her family, she clings to the one thing she has left to fight for, her friends. She, along with Kiro Nezumi, Rozu Yujin, and Noto Amet all have their own reasons to fight, but they all have their eyes set on Haven Academy. Whatever their purpose for going is matters little, what matters is that they are ready to stand up and fight to uphold what lasting peace remains on Remnant.Whether it’s local bullies or mad scientists, nothing will stand in the way of reaching their full potential as huntsmen and huntresses.
Series: KRMN [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1870897
Kudos: 9





	1. Day Always Comes After Night

Legend tells of warriors with eyes that can strike fear into even soulless monsters, which are incapable of feeling anything. Silver eyed warriors use this power for one purpose; to protect life. The darkness may be spent on taking away all that is good in this world, but this light that these warriors possess may be the only thing that can bring true balance. Light and darkness. Day and night.

Even the faintest of sparks have the power to become a flame.

The sun is setting, painting the sky a with beautiful orange hue. The streets of Menagerie are all but empty, spare the few stragglers making their final stops in the market before returning home for the night. It’s a night like any other, and yet something feels different in the air. It’s wrong, chilling.

Just as the town falls silent and lights in the houses go out, one girl opens her eyes and stares out into the darkness from the comfort of her room. She’s inclined to just stay in bed and read all night, or play a video game, but there’s a feeling in her heart that won’t let her sit still.

She groans and rolls out of bed, mumbling frustration to herself for sleeping all day. She walks to the door and pulls it open, the lights still on downstairs. She yawns and shuts the door behind her as she walks down to see her parents sitting together on the couch, watching the news.

“Mom, dad? What’s going on?” She asks sleepily. Her parents turn their heads back to look at her. “Murasaki? What are you still doing up? Did you sleep all day again?” Her mother, Pansa asks.

Murasaki crosses her arms. “I asked you first.” She grins. 

Her father, Raion chuckles. “We’re just seeing if there’s anything new on the recent murders around the island.” He explains. Murasaki tilts her head. “Has the killer been caught yet?” She asks. 

From the kitchen, her sister snickers. “As if it wasn’t already obvious who it was.” She says. Murasaki jumps and looks her way. “Sumi! You’re awake too?” She asks, slightly startled.

Sumi rolls her eyes. “No. I’m very asleep.” She smirks. Murasaki growls at her, but still smiles.

“Sumi, I know what you think of the Kirai’s but it’s not nice to call them murderers. They are just a little… Different, is all.” Pansa says. 

Murasaki sighs. “So… I take it I can’t go out tonight?” She mutters. Sumi laughs to herself.

Their parents scoff. “Not a chance. The last thing we need is for you to get killed. That would be really inconvenient.” Raion jokes. 

Murasaki frowns. “Ugh… Fine. I guess I can just be a hermit then. It’s fine.” She dramatically turns around and starts walking back upstairs. 

“Goodnight, drama queen.” Pansa playfully calls after her. Murasaki rolls her eyes and goes back to her room.

Murasaki paces in her room both in frustration and in boredom. “If only they let me go to Beacon Academy… Or even Haven Academy… If they would just let me leave home, I could learn how to defend myself and other people. Then I would be able to catch this murderer and make it safe to go out at night… But no. Being a Huntress is ‘too dangerous’… Pfft. At least then I wouldn’t be stuck with nothing to do all day.” She mumbles her complaints.  


Her parents and sister have already gone to bed, but she can’t bring herself to even sit still. The sun has fully set, cloaking the streets in shadows. She stares out her window. “I am strong enough…”

She stares at her reflection in the glass. Her purple hair. Her cat ears. Her eyes. She always hated her eyes, not only for their lack of color that she gets from her dad, but also for their lack of night vision that, as a Faunus, she is supposed to have.  


Murasaki and her family all share some form of cat-like trait. Murasaki has cat ears, while her sister has a tail. Her mother’s trait is her fangs, and her father’s is also a tail, like Sumi. The majority of Faunus are born with the ability to see perfectly in the dark, but there are a few unlucky individuals who are born without that gift, like Murasaki.

Murasaki looks back at her bedroom door, and then back to the window. Quietly, she pushes up on the pane, sliding the glass out of her way. She carefully slips through the small window, silently thanking her small size. Once on the roof, she shuts the window behind her. 

She takes a deep breath and looks down over the side of the roof. She crawls to the close streetlight she usually uses to climb down. She has to jump a little to grab the pole, being as quiet as possible as she climbs down. 

Halfway down, she slips and lands in the bushes outside her house with a loud thud. She holds her breath and stares at the window to her parents room, directly beneath her’s. The light stays off and she doesn’t see any movement inside. She lets out a silent sigh of relief and crawls out of the bush. 

Now that’s she’s out of the house, she starts walking down the street. 

Thank goodness for the light of the broken moon, otherwise she would be completely blind once she gets to the forest. The streetlights help, but most of them are broken, as they have been for over a year now. It’s unlikely they’re going to be fixed any time soon.

Murasaki turns the corner and enters the plaza, which is often empty at night, but it seems like it’s not one of those nights.  


She gasps and takes a step back once she sees who the people are.

Aka Kirai. The youngest daughter of the Kirai family. Only a few years older than Murasaki. At her side is her ‘pack’. Sayu Hanta and Nave Teilt. Those wolf Faunus are nothing but trouble, but Aka seems like a different kind of trouble. Sumi may be a bit bias about the Kirai family since she was picked on by Aka’s older sister, Sakura, but Murasaki has to admit that something about them is extremely off-putting. 

Murasaki takes another step back, trying to slip away without them ever noticing she was there, but Sayu’s wolf ears must have caught the small sound of her stepping back. He instantly looks right at her, Aka and Nave didn’t hear her, since they both have wolf tails and therefore the same hearing as a human. But seeing Sayu’s reaction, they both look as well, and a smirk finds Aka’s face. 

“Well well well… If it isn’t the scared little Kitty. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” Aka snickers and steps towards her slowly. 

Murasaki balls her hands into fists. “I… I’m not afraid of you!” She trembles slightly.

Aka laughs. “No? Well then something must be wrong. Because, you should be. Watching you try to act tough is almost sad.” She sighs. 

Murasaki frowns and narrows her eyes. “Just leave me alone you… you…um… you mutt!” She exclaims. Aka rolls her eyes and chuckles. Then she frowns and looks off to the side. Some indescribable emotion flashes across her face as she closes her eyes. 

“Nave, Sayu… You two deal with her. I’ve got something to do. Meet back where we discussed.” Her tone lowers and her voice quivers a little. Murasaki tilts her head to the side. Nave cracks his knuckles. “Can do…” He grins as he and Sayu start walking towards her.

Murasaki doesn’t hesitate before running in the other direction. “After her!” Aka demands. Nave and Sayu chase after her down the street.

Murasaki rounds a sharp corner as she starts running down the alley. She hears the loud footsteps following her trail, drawing nearer as she falters. She glances over her shoulder to see Nave and Sayu are closer than she thought. She gasps and turns back to face forward, but the moment she does, she collides with a stack of wooden crates, blocking the alleyway. 

She falls back and brings her hand to her face to try soothing the sharp pain on the bridge of her nose. She starts trying to stand up, but a hard kick to her back knocks her forward and onto her knees. She gasps and turns around to face the two.

Her ears fold flat against her head. “Please, leave me alone!” She pleads. Nave laughs. “Sorry, kitty. Orders are orders.” He snickers and punches her across the face. She whimpers and sinks back. 

Sayu sighs. “It’s nothing personal, Murasaki. I hope you know that.” He walks towards her and throws a punch to her stomach. 

She curls in on herself and covers her head. “I didn’t do anything! Please just stop!” She begs. 

Nave laughs and kicks her in the side. “Aw, c’mon. Can’t take a hit, kitty?” He patronizes her. 

Murasaki growls and throws a punch back at him, but he grabs her wrist and shoves her back. Her arm scrapes against the wooden crates. 

Sayu frowns and kicks her once she’s down again. She buries her face in her arms and tries to make herself as small as possible. 

Murasaki starts to cry, trying to block out the pain that comes with each hit.

“Nice job, boys. But now it’s my turn.” 

Nave and Sayu stop hitting her and look back, and she follows their gaze to see Aka standing at the end of the alley. She sneers and slowly starts walking towards them. 

Nave and Sayu step back from Murasaki as Aka stops next to them. “What now?” Sayu asks. 

Aka looks down at Murasaki. “Leave us.” She says to the two. “What? Why?” Nave asks.

“Because I said so. Now leave.” She orders. Nave grumbles and looks to Sayu, who sighs. “Fine. Just tell us how it goes later, whatever it is you’re doing.” He says and nods to Nave. And just like that, they leave.

Murasaki slowly lowers her arms from her face and raises her head to look at Aka. She was expecting her to look proud of herself, but that’s not the case. Aka’s expression is of pure apathy. It’s like trying to find emotion in a brick wall.

Murasaki sits up and stares at her. “I didn’t do anything. Just… leave me alone.” She calls out. 

Aka sighs. “See, but that’s not really an option now, is it?” She says. 

Murasaki looks at her sideways. “What do you mean?” She asks. 

“It’s not important. Don’t worry about it.” Aka says dismissively. 

“When my sister hears about this she’ll…”

“She’ll what? What can she possibly do?” Aka smirks. 

“She’ll help me.” Murasaki states. Aka frowns and shakes her head.

“Why would she help somebody she doesn’t know?” She asks. 

Murasaki freezes. Her heart sinks. “…What?” She asks quietly. 

Aka smirks. “You heard me. She doesn’t remember you. No one does. It just makes my job all the more easier.” She slowly starts reaching behind her back, but a voice ceases her action.

“That’s enough, Aka!” They both look up to where the sound came from. Atop the stack of crates stands a boy. Blonde hair, wolf ears, amethyst eyes, and a determined look worn across his face. 

Aka grumbles. “Kiro… You always have to play the hero, huh?” She crosses her arms and scowls. 

Murasaki stares up at him. He frowns and jumps down, landing beside her. “I wouldn’t have to if you would knock this crap off, Aka.” Kiro states. 

Aka rolls her eyes. “Still trying to cover up the mess you made?” She asks.

“You mean the mess _you_ made. I know everything, Aka. About your family. About you. I know just the kind of person you are. And that’s something you can’t cover up.” Kiro says. 

Aka lowers her arms and clenches her fists. “You don’t know the first thing about me! I wasn’t the one who—“ She stops herself from finishing. “…Don’t you know that the streets have been dangerous lately? Shouldn’t you be home in bed right now?” Aka sneers.

__

“Yeah, and I wonder why it hasn’t been safe. No doubt that family of yours leaving everyone in fear.” Kiro says.

Aka narrows her eyes. “What do you want, Kiro? To monologue or to fight? It’s always so hard to tell with you.” She asks.

Kiro smirks and quickly reaches behind him. He pulls a blade off of his belt. It’s a short sword, and the trigger near the handle suggests it’s also a gun. There appears to be a glowing red core in the hilt, fire dust.

__

Kiro holds it tightly and waits for Aka’s response. Murasaki waits as well, trying to be as unnoticeable as possible.

Aka just sighs and puts her hands up in surrender. “I don’t need the extra hassle. She’s not worth the effort. So there you go, Kiro. You win. Congratulations on your cunning victory.” Aka sneers and patronizingly claps. 

Kiro takes a step towards her. “Leave.” He orders. Aka smiles and turns away.

__

Murasaki watches her throw one last glance back at her before taking a deep breath and sprinting back down the alley and out of sight.

__

Kiro lets out a breath he’d been holding and puts his sword away. He looks to Murasaki. She sits herself up unsteadily as he crouches down beside her and puts a hand on her shoulder.

__

She brushes the dirt off her arms and legs, making her scrapes sting. “Are you okay?” Kiro asks. Murasaki looks up at him, his eyes checking hers. She nods and sniffles. Kiro smiles and looks down. “Good. If I had gotten here sooner I would’ve—“

__

He’s cut off when Murasaki wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his shoulder. She’s trembling. Her ears are flat against her head. Kiro carefully returns the embrace. Her shaking settles a little.  
“What’s your name?” He asks softly.

__

Murasaki leans back slightly and looks into his eyes. She wipes away the few tears she had shed and her ears perk up a bit. “Murasaki Chuya.”

__

__

A few weeks earlier.

__

__

Kiro walks into the living room where his father, Kasai, sits listening to the radio from his chair in the corner. The bandage wrapping around his stomach is red along his side, and he keeps his hand over the crimson stain. 

__

Kiro shifts quietly. “Dad, do you need me to help you change your bandages again? Or can I help you with anything? At all?” His ears slightly wilt.

__

Kasai looks to his son slowly and smiles. “Can you turn up the volume? I love this song.” He looks back to the radio. Kiro looks down for a moment and nods. “No problem.” He forces a smile and walks across the room to where the radio sits above the fireplace. He turns the dial labeled ‘volume’ up and the sound fills the room. “That’s good, thank you.” Says Kasai.

__

Kiro nods and walks over to the couch across from his father and takes his seat, listening with him.

__

Kasai smiles and closes his eyes, quietly singing along. “I’ll always know… That day always comes after night. Don’t you go looking for a fight… Because day always comes after night…”

__

Kiro watches his father in silence, just admiring his voice. He then closes his eyes as well, so he can focus only on the sound.

__

His father continues singing along, but is abruptly interrupted by a fit of coughing. Kiro’s eyes shoot open and he jumps from his seat, rushing to his father’s side. Kasai tries to stand up with Kiro’s help, but he collapses to the carpeted floor.

__

The coughing continues, growing more violent with each one. “Dad! Dad, are you okay? What can I do?” His ears fall flat against his head. Kasai shakes his head as he heaves.

__

Kiro feels his heart beat rapidly, near painfully. “Mom! Help! Dad needs help!” He shouts back to the hallway. He turns back to his father as he waits for his mother to arrive. 

__

The radio keeps playing. Kiro rubs his father’s back gently and tries to focus on the song in an attempt to remain calm. “Close your eyes… And when they open then watch the sun rise… You’ll see how fast the time flies… Because day always comes after night…” He whispers and closes his eyes. He hears his mother’s footsteps draw closer.

__

__

Kasai lays in the hospital bed, Kiro and his mother sit in the chairs beside him. Kiro holds his father’s hand tightly in his own, feeling his whole body shaking. 

__

He glances at his mother, Kua, to see that she has her face turned completely away from both of them. Her ears are also wilted. Her hands are clasped together tightly, steadying their trembling.

__

Kiro looks back to his father just as his eyes open and immediately land on his son. “Kiro…” He says weakly. Kiro’s eyes well up at the sound. 

__

There is a soft knock on the door. “Come in.” Kua says quietly. The door opens and the doctor walks in, holding the door behind her. “Mrs. Nezumi. I… Need to speak with you in the hall for a second, if that’s alright.” She says slowly. Kua nods and stands up, paying Kiro no mind.

__

She walks across the room and out the door, with the doctor in tow. The door shuts behind them, but Kiro pays no attention to the faint muffles from the other side. He doesn’t bother wondering what they are talking about out there. He already knows.

__

Kasai shuts his eyes again. His breathing slightly slows. The screen showing his heartbeat shows a slow pulse. 

__

Figures. Kasai Nezumi was once a professional huntsman. He attended four years at Sanctum Academy, four years at Haven, always passing at the top of his class. He was a legend in Kiro’s eyes. He saved countless lives. Wielding his short sword, Okami. He survived so much bloodshed, only to fall to one stab of an assassins poison coated dagger. One hit, and nothing else mattered. It took a while to find out that he was poisoned, and after they did, the doctors couldn’t do anything. And it all amounted to _this_. Helplessly watching his father’s pulse decline, until the line fell flat with a high pitched ring.

__

Kiro felt as though his own heart stopped. He felt his whole body go numb. He couldn’t even feel the tears roll down his cheeks and onto the white bed sheets beside what was once his father.

__

He lowers his head and presses Kasai’s hand to his forehead as he closes his eyes. “…day always comes after night…” He whispers, his voice trembles.

__

The doctor rushes back in and puts a hand on Kiro’s shoulder, while another doctor gets to work on stopping the high pitched sound. Kiro slowly lifts his head and looks at the doctor. “…Where’s my mom…?” He asks brokenly.

__

The doctor nods her head to the door. “She said she’d wait in the hall… She couldn’t bear the thought…” She says slowly, her voice soft. Kiro nods and stands up, letting his father’s hand drop to the bed. He turns and heads to the hall.

__

__

“Mom? Where are you?”

__

__

“Mom?”

__

__

She’s gone. 

__

__

Day always comes after night.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is something I have been working on for about five years now, without showing it to anyone, but now I am ready to try getting it out there. This is only the start of a story I feel very passionate about and I wanted to share it with others who might enjoy reading it. 
> 
> I would appreciate feedback and hearing what you think. 
> 
> This story is currently on it’s 14th volume, and I plan on hitting 18, so there’s quite a ways to go, and remember that this is just the start.
> 
> I look forward to hearing what you think. :)


	2. Never Forget

The next day, just as the village is beginning to wake up, Kiro and Murasaki go for a walk around town, trying to shake the tension left behind by the events of the night prior. 

They stop by the market, which is bustling with Faunus of all kinds. The large concentration of people leaves Murasaki on edge, which Kiro quickly takes note of and changes course to a less crowded area, by the docks.

He notices how her ears slightly hang low, and she keeps her eyes locked on the ground as they walk. Neither has spoken throughout the entire morning, but just as Kiro goes to break the silence, Murasaki speaks up.

“Kiro…” She says quietly. He glances back at her. “Yeah, Mura?” He asks with a hint of apprehension. 

“What… Um… What did Aka mean… When she said that no one would remember me…? She was just kidding, right?” She asks and looks at him from the corner of her eye.

Kiro stops walking and she mimics the action. His ears lower as well and he looks away, unable to meet her gaze.

“I…” He tries to find the words. “Look… Believe me when I say this. There is nothing I want more right now than to say yes. But… I don’t want to lie to you.” He starts.

Mura’s eyes dart to meet his, only to find the side of his face. “…What are you saying…?” She nearly whispers.

Kiro sighs. “Aka. Her… Semblance. It allows her to alter memories. Both her own and others. I don’t know for sure… But it’s possible that she did that to your family…” He clenches his fists as he dares himself to meet her eyes.

She just stares at him, as though she’s not fully able to process what she’s just been told. “But why… How could… Why would she do that…?” Her voice sounds unfamiliar to her own ears. 

“You’ve seen the news. Murders going around the island. It’s no secret that the Kirai’s are behind it. I wouldn’t be surprised if she erased their memories of you because she was planning on…” 

He trails off when Mura looks away. Her body begins to tremble and her ears flatten entirely. She shakes her head. “No… I refuse to believe they would just forget me!” She turns on her heels and starts running in the direction of her house without another word.

“Mura! Wait!” Kiro calls after her as he follows, dodging passed people and trying to keep her in his line of sight.

Mura reaches her house and doesn’t even stop to catch her breath as she rushes up the steps and frantically knocks on the door.

Kiro catches up and nearly topples over at the bottom of the stairs. He fights to pull himself together and look up at her. “Mura! Wait, you don’t want to—“

The door opens to reveal Pansa, her mother. She stares down at Mura with a curious look. “Can I help you?”

Mura doesn’t try fighting her tears. “You… You remember me, right? Please, tell me you remember!” She grabs her mother’s hand.

“Pansa, is everything alright, dear?” Comes her father’s voice. Raion appears next to Pansa, both staring down at Mura in confusion.

“Remember? I’m sorry, but I don’t recall you. What’s you’re name, sweetie?” Pansa asks kindly.

Mura shakes her head. Her grip on her mother’s hand tightens. Raion puts a hand on Pansa’s shoulder. 

“It’s Murasaki… But you know that! You know me!” She now grabs her fathers hand as well. 

Her tears are falling in streams now. Pansa and Raion look at each other quizzically. “What are you talking about?” Raion asks.

Kiro rushes up the stairs and puts his hand on Mura’s shoulder. In her cluster of emotions, she shoves Kiro back and turns around, not even looking at her parents again before jumping off the steps and sprinting off into the woods.

Mura sobs aloud as she bolts through the forest, not caring who hears her. The trees and plants whip past her as she runs, twigs and branches scraping against her arms as she uses them to block her face. 

Her sobs becomes gasps, shuddering air into and out of her lungs. She doesn’t even notice it when she trips until she is already on the ground, dirt covering the side of her face and her arm. She turns her body and grasps onto the bare patch of grass beneath her as she continues crying. 

She brings up her clean arm to wipe away the tears and dirt from her face to try seeing where she is, but her tears instantly come back, blurring her vision. She drops her arm and head and curls in on herself, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. 

When she fell, the scrapes along her arms from last night reopened, so along with the dirt and tears, now there’s also blood. She growls and punches the ground, shooting pain through her arm, which only makes her cry more.

“They actually forgot me… Just like that… They didn’t even recognize me…” She shakes her head. Her tears fall from her eyes and roll down her legs as she buries her face in her knees. 

“Was she really going to kill me…? Are the Kirai’s actually murders…? Why would someone want to kill me…? I didn’t do anything wrong…” She closes her eyes.

She hears footsteps approach, but she doesn’t even bother lifting her head. “It’s not your fault, Mura. You couldn’t have known that this was going to happen.”

She turns her head slightly to the side, just enough to to look at him. Kiro stands a few feet away from her with a small smile. She sniffles.

“But I could have stayed home. I shouldn’t have snuck out. I should have listened to them when they said no… I should have…” She trails off as he walks towards her and sits down beside her with an ungraceful ‘thump’. 

He puts a hand on her shoulder. She looks over at him. “…Where are your parents…” She asks in a small voice.

Kiro freezes and looks down. Several moments pass with neither of them saying anything before he takes a deep breath. 

“My dad… Died… A few weeks ago…” He closes his eyes and inhales slowly. Mura stares at him.

“A… And your mom…?” She asks carefully, now nearly whispering. He exhales and opens his eyes, staring straight forward.

“She… Left the day it happened. I haven’t seen her since.” His voice is laced with both lament and venom. His ears fold back.

Mura looks down and shakes her head. “I…” She tries to find something to say, but settles with simplicity. “I am so sorry…” She finishes.

“Don’t be.”

She looks at him again in question as he turns to fully face her. “Bad things may have happened, but I know that good has to come from it all.”

She thinks about his words. “And what good could possibly have come from that?” She asks. Kiro smiles sadly.

“Well… I met you. That’s a pretty good thing in my opinion.” That gets her to smile back. Her ears slightly perk up.

“It’s been a long time since I actually had friends. I was so busy taking care of my father after the incident that I just kinda lost all ties.” He explains. 

“I believe in the fact that good has to come from bad… Just as day always comes after night.” He wipes away the last of her tears. She hadn’t even noticed that she had stopped crying.

His words sit in her mind and she unconsciously repeats them aloud. ”Day always comes after night...” She says slowly. Their eyes meet.

She takes a moment to process the words. “So… What do we do now?” She asks. Kiro smiles and puts his hand on Okami.

“Now we start working towards our day.” He says confidently. Mura studies him and nods firmly.

_____________________________

Aka’s mother, Ketsu, always scolded her for the slightest things, but this is different. This is no slight thing.

“I… I’m sorry, mother… I tried, but—“ A sharp backhand stops her from continuing. 

Aka drops back and brings a hand up to her burning cheek, fighting the tears that threaten to fall. Tears are a sign of weakness, which she cannot afford to show any more of.

“No, you didn’t try! You didn’t do anything once that boy showed up. I thought we taught him enough of a lesson by getting rid of his father, and yet _this_ happened. That girl should have been an easy target, and yet you failed to even do that.” Her mother shakes her head and looks away, too ashamed to even look her in the eyes.

The moment is interrupted when Aka’s older sister, Sakura, walks into the room and leans her back against the doorframe.

“Mother… If I were you, I wouldn’t even bother with that failure of a child. Trust me, you’re better off just _forgetting_ about her.” Sakura throws a sharp glance at Aka, who lowers her head in shame.

Ketsu scoffs. “That may be so, but she needs to learn that in this family, we follow a code. The people of this island fear us, and we cannot have her slandering our ‘good’ name by appearing weak. To bring fear, we must kill. And if we don’t kill, we lose the respect the Kirai family has upheld for generations.” She gives Aka a look of pure disdain.

Sakura laughs before Aka has the chance to speak. “Kill? Mother, please. This pathetic little coward couldn’t kill to save her life. Let alone to contribute to a family she already can’t stand. Honestly, I think she still needs to prove herself before she can truly be considered a Kirai.”

Aka glares spitefully at her sister, who sneers and crosses her arms. Ketsu chuckles, the sound dark and ominous.

“Perhaps you’re right. Hm…” She taps her chin and smiles. “Sakura. Go downstairs and select the perfect knife for your dear sister.” She waves her off.

Sakura smiles widely and nods, rushing out of the room. Ketsu walks over to the window, crossing her hands behind her back.

Aka shifts to sit on her knees and keeps her head down as she feels her stomach become a bottomless pit. 

She has always been seen as a strong leader by her friends, Nave and Sayu, but the moment she’s home, all previous hints of respect and praise amount to nothing when compared to her cowardice. She was used to bullying the younger Faunus on the island, mainly the cat Faunus, but that was about as far as her cruelty has ever gone. What her family wants is something far worse than she has ever imagined. They want her to kill.

It’s been this way for countless years, but only in recent few it has gotten worse. Every time she refuses to comply, she’s beaten. Every time she fails, she’s beaten. Every time her sister does something Aka can’t, she’s beaten, pushed aside, and left on her own. It’s gone on long enough. If they want her to kill, then so be it.

(It’s now or never, Aka. Do it.)

She can’t even let her mind process everything happening in the moment. She feels as though her entire body is on autopilot and she is simply sitting back and watching to see what she does next. Like a nightmare she can’t wake up from.

The target’s name is Aurum Piscis. She’s a Faunus (obviously), with light brown hair, blue eyes, dark skin, and orange fins along her forearms. She’s wearing a light grey skirt and an orange crop top. 

Aurum makes her way around the market area of the village. She smiles at the shopkeeper who just bagged her fruits and handed them to her, to which she paid her lien and started making her way out of the crowd of people, on her way home.

The wind picks up a bit as she walks, a chilling feeling looms in the air around her, the feeling of being watched follows her. 

She stops walking and backs up to a building beside a palm tree, her eyes dart around her surroundings. “H… Hello?” She calls out to no one in particular.

Aka’s hands tremble as she clings to the blade chosen for her by Sakura. She takes deep breaths and looks down at the frightened woman from her perch atop the roof and the cover from the tree.

A part of her wants something to go wrong, but at the same time she knows that if she fails yet again, her mother might go as far as having Sakura kill her next. The thought of being hunted down like an animal and slaughtered by her own sister shoves all remaining doubt to the back of her mind. Her objective is clear. Kill Aurum Piscis.

Aurum reaches behind her and grabs a tiny pocket knife from the leather pouch on her belt. She holds it tight and backs up further.

No one is around, so if something were to happen to her, no one would see. She glances behind her, to the alleyway between two buildings. The alley leads back to the marketplace, where there are plenty of people around if anything were to happen. 

She nods to herself and begins to rush down the alley, but is halted when a stack of wooden boxes suddenly collapse and block her path.

Aurum gasps and turns to go back the way she came, but a person wearing all black and a cloak hiding their face blocks the way. Aurum freezes, her hands tremble. “W… Who are you…? What do you want?!” She demands.

Aka momentarily freezes as well, takes a deep breath, and pulls the knife back out for Aurum to see. The woman’s eyes widen and she starts tearing up. “No…” She breathes out.

“Someone! Help! Someone’s trying to—“ She is cut off when her mind runs blank for a moment, her sudden state of panic halts. She can’t seem to remember what’s going on. 

Aurum looks back at Aka quizzically. “Can I help you?” She asks. She puts her pocket knife back in her pouch and stares at this strange cloaked person. “Who are y—“

A sudden rush of blood silences her. Aka covers Aurum’s mouth and holds her dagger in her side, piercing her lung. “…I’m sorry…” She finds herself struggling to breathe as the woman falls silent and her body grows still. 

Aka’s hands tremble worse than before. Her eyes blur and her mind races. Her heart hurts. She feels dizzy.

This was a mistake. Her life wasn’t worth stealing another. No amount of approval was worth this. Nothing could make this okay. Nothing could make this right. 

Aka pulls her hood down with shaking hands. She stares at the face of the now dead Aurum and shakes her head. She then looks at the blood covering her hands.

Her mind shuts down completely when she hears a scream ring out from behind her. She whips her attention towards the sound, and her heart sinks down into nothing, her breathing completely stops. Her entire body feels like ice.

She stares back at a little girl with light brown hair and blue eyes. The girl’s eyes land on the body of Aurum, darting between the body, and the person holding her. 

“…mommy…?” The little girl whispers brokenly. 

Aka doesn’t remember much of what happened next, it’s all a blur. She only knows that now she’s running towards the forest, tears running down her cheeks. She wipes the tears away as best she can, but she just smears blood across her face, making it even harder to see. 

She continues running until a sharp pain smacks into her face as she collides with a tree, and everything goes dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t plan on putting out a chapter every day, but just for now, while I’m still getting started, I’m going to put out chapters as I finish writing them. I just want to wait until I feel that the story truly ‘starts’ before sticking to a schedule.


	3. No Mistakes, No Missing, No Failing

Mura barely manages to dodge out of the way as Kiro dives to strike her. As she dodges, she trips and lands on her side, dropping her stick and rolling onto her back with a huff.

Kiro laughs. “Giving up already? We’ve barely started!” He smirks.

Mura growls and narrows her eyes at him. “Well sorry I wasn’t raised around huntsmen. My parents can’t fight and my sister is always busy with the White Fang. So excuse me if I’m not as experienced as you…” She sits up and brushes the dirt off her side.

Kiro smiles. “Hey, don’t worry about it. You’ll get there.” He offers her a hand.

She grabs his hand and smiles back, but his smile falls back into a smirk again. “Although, it might take a cat longer to learn than a wolf…” He flashes her a smug look.

She growls and lowers her ears. Instead of letting him help her up, she yanks his arm in her direction, pulling him to the ground beside her. Once he’s down, she springs up, grabs her stick, and holds it to his throat. 

Now it’s her turn to smirk. He smiles as he brings his hands up in surrender. Mura chuckles and lowers the stick, offering him her hand. “Think you can keep up?” She says, returning his previous smug tone.

Kiro rolls his eyes and accepts the help, allowing her to pull him up. “Definitely.” He says. Mura takes a few steps back and holds the stick in front of her, preparing for the next round.

__________________________________

Two years later, Atlas.

(Right foot forward. Keep perfect form. Come on, Noto. You can do this.)

Noto has spent the last year and a half training for this day. Her test to land a place in Atlas Academy.

Her parents have always expected perfection of her, but they never push too hard for it. But the pressure only increased once she discovered her semblance, the very idea of it is perfection.

(No mistakes, no missing, no failing…)

A pair of Atlesian Knights sprint at her, and she draws her bow, Hatobureika. One of the Knights is colored red, and the other is blue.

The blue Knight grabs the hand of the red one, throwing it’s twin towards Noto. She takes a deep breath and rolls out of the way.

She regains her footing and closes her eyes.

(Blue Knight, right arm.)

She lets her arrow fly, and the androids arm sparks, a pink arrow piercing straight through it. She smirks to herself and nearly gets hit by the red Knight as it stabs its spear her way.

She counters the strike by folding her bow in half, and pressing a button on the handle. A sharp blade spikes out from the center and forms the weapon into a spear of her own, the bow string flows at the bottom.

She knows her parents as well as General Ironwood, the headmaster of Atlas Academy and commander of the Atlesian military are watching her every move. His presence is enough to add pressure to an already stressful situation, but it’s not only him that she’s trying to impress.

The red Knight slices its spear towards her, and she blocks the attack with Hatobureika. The blue Knight runs up behind her, with only its left arm remaining and grabs her arm, pulling her away from the red Knight. 

She growls and flips back, breaking its hold on her. She closes her eyes again and takes another deep breath.

(Red Knight, left leg.)

She throws the spear and it pierces straight through the androids limb, taking it clean off. Noto rolls forward and kicks its side, knocking it out of the way and grabbing her weapon from the ground.

She’s left the kingdom to go to various places around Remnant before, her favorites being Mistral and Vale. And each time she leaves home to go somewhere else, she always hears the same things about Atlas. That the people are as cold as the kingdom. That being from the great city in the sky meant being rich and perfect. While she cannot speak for most, she personally finds that doesn’t apply to her at all.

Yes, she may be rich, but she always seems to surprise people she meets when she tells them that she’s from Atlas, since she isn’t considered the standard ‘normal’ when it comes to the behavior of most of its people. She and her brother are abnormalities from where they call home.

Her brother’s name is Taiko Amet. He is a total pain, but that’s what little brothers are for. Despite that, she still loves him more than anything. Noto knows that he is watching as well, which instills a great deal of confidence in her.

She grabs her weapon by the dangling string, and starts swinging it around in circles, whipping it at the blue Knight, slicing across its chest and severing it’s other arm, as well as one of its legs. 

The android falls to the ground and she smiles at her small victory, but it’s cut short when she is punched forward by the one legged red Knight.

The crippled android picks up the severed leg of the blue knight and clicks it onto where its own once was. It holds its fists up and runs at her, punching her square in the stomach.

She flies back and takes deep breaths, watching her multicolored opponent sprint her way. 

(I will get into Atlas Academy, Taiko. I’ll make you proud.)

She smiles and lunges forward, dodging the strike and kicks the android back. It twitches and falls back, fighting to stand back up. 

Noto smirks and rushes for it, spear in hand. She slices across its chest. It grabs her leg and throws her over its head, but instead of going down, she gracefully preforms a front flip and lands on her feet.

The android stands back up and faces her.

(I won’t let you down, Taiko.)

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes again, folding her weapon back into a bow. She draws the string, pauses, and releases.

(I can never miss hitting what I think about. That’s my semblance. As long as I’m thinking about it, I won’t miss.)

The courtyard falls silent. Noto opens her eyes to see that the android has no arrow piercing it, but instead its just shut down. She tilts her head in confusion.

She looks up to the balcony to see her parents standing with their mouths agape and their eyes wide. Now she begins to understand.

(As long as I’m thinking about it, I won’t miss.)

“…Taiko…” Noto whispers. 

She turns quickly to the opposite balcony where her little brother resides. And there he is, frozen, with a pink arrow pierced through his chest, the blood darkening his black hoodie. He collapses and the medics rush to his aid.

Noto can barely breathe. Her mind screams at her, telling her to wake up from whatever sick, twisted nightmare she has forced herself to witness. No. This is reality.

She hears her mother, Cerise, scream Taiko’s name. The sound pierces through the night. That painful, agonizing scream. Cerise and her husband, Tsurian, sprint to get to Taiko’s side.

Noto just stands there, unable to process everything going on around her. She hears the screaming, the voices, she sees it all play out like film. But she can’t comprehend the true meaning of what’s going on. “Noto! What have you **done**?!“ 

Her little brother is dead, and she killed him.

She slowly turns her head, and her eyes lock with General Ironwood. 

Finally, one thought is able to form in her mind. While her entire body is numb, she knows the only thing left for her to do.

Run.

(Taiko… I’m sorry… I let you down.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three members down, one to go. 
> 
> Everything that took place before Atlas was pretty much exposition, but now that the story has passed two years, I feel things will actually ‘start’, leading into what the story truly is, at least for the first volume.


	4. Deal With The Devil

Mura and Kiro have spent the past two years together, training and taking care of each other. After all, all they have left is each other.

Mura hasn’t tried going home to see if her parents happen to remember her, she doesn’t want to get her hopes up just to be let down. 

In those two years, Aka has not caused any trouble for Mura, Kiro, or really anyone. She’s just distant now. Seemingly emotionless. Not even Nave and Sayu have spoken to her, she mostly just stays at home during the day, and at night she wanders around town, not really doing anything. 

Aka herself has no reason to pick on anyone anymore. Any amount of harm she causes to another person only reminds her of that day. That little girls face. The blood. Her scream. All of it hits her in waves, and nothing can remove the guilt that drags her heart down into numbness.

Well, there is one option. One thing that could make the guilt, pain, and regret all fade away in an instant. She could _forget_.

The option has weighed in her mind for the entirety of the two years, but no matter how desperate she is to let go of what happened, she can’t bring herself to do it.

So, instead of forgetting, she just stays quiet and avoids people at all costs. Especially Murasaki. 

(I hate this.)

She’s usually the life of the party. Always seen as a strong leader in the eyes of those below her, but she threw it all away for a small fragment of respect from her family.

Even after she killed Aurum, she wasn’t given any praise or apology for her previous treatment. Instead she was scorned for her sloppy work of showing her face to the child, and leaving the body in the open. 

On this night, with darkness shadowing over the streets, Aka slides her window open, pulls up her cloak, and climbs out.

It’s well passed midnight, and the rest of her family is either asleep, or out on a contract. Her father, Snaike, left a few hours ago, and she really does not want to be around when he returns. She would have to sit through a long, drawn out description of the kill, including every indecent little detail.

She pulls the slip of paper with the address out of her pocket and nods to herself. She starts making her way towards the house. 

She looks up at the small structure. Simple wooden house with an orange roof. Aka takes a deep breath as she stands before the door, lifting her hand to knock.

She freezes and considers what could happen if she does this, but ultimately decides that after everything, she really doesn’t care.

She knocks hesitantly and lowers her arm, taking a small step back.

(Would they even be awake this late? I wouldn’t be surprised if the are, they are likely pretty restless…)

The doorknob turns and slowly opens to reveal a tired looking man, with dark circles under his eyes. He stares at her, unable to see her face since it’s hidden by her hood.

Aka holds her breath as she locks eyes with him. His expression is one of pure apathy.

“…Can I help you…?” He asks, his tone sounds defeated. Aka tenses up. She can’t find the words to say, nothing that comes to mind seems right. What is she even supposed to say?

“…daddy? Who is it?” Comes a small voice from behind the man. Aka’s heart freezes at the familiar voice. She fights the tears building up in the corners of her eyes.

The little girl rubs her eyes as she walks into sight with a big yawn. Aka was right, it’s clear that neither she, nor her father have gotten much sleep in the past two years. She can’t blame them, since she hasn’t really either.

Her heart was racing a million miles an hour, but she would never let it show. 

With another deep breath, Aka kneels down to the girls height. “Wha…” The girl didn’t finish. Aka reaches into her other pocket and grabs something she’s been holding onto for a long time. 

The girl watched her curiously as Aka extended her arm out, her hand clenched tightly. “Hold out your hand, please.” She says softly.

The girl looks up at her father with uncertainty. Hesitantly, he nods.

She did as she was told and holds out her hand, with her palm facing upward. Aka drops a golden necklace into the girl’s hand, and closes her fingers around the trinket.

In that moment, she’s thankful for the hood. Otherwise they would have seen her start to cry. Aka stands up and looks back at the father. “…Thank you.” He smiles wearily. 

Aka just stares at him, and takes her hood off.

The little girl went from examining the necklace to looking up at Aka’s face. Her eyes suddenly widen.

Aka looks away. “I… I’m so sorry… For your loss…” She nearly whispers. 

The father puts a hand on his daughters shoulder. 

Once again, everything felt like a blur for her after that. She only remembers running.

Her parents are right. She is a coward.

__________________________

Mura and Kiro are up later than usual for their training session. Mura throws a swing at Kiro and he dodges out of the way in time, turns, and strikes her in return. She blocks the strike and gets slightly pushed back. 

They’ve been at it for hours, both seemingly tired. But Mura shows no signs of stopping.

“Mura, are you sure you don’t want to call it a night? Discovering your semblance won’t just happen overnight. It takes time.” He sets down his own stick and leans forward on it breathlessly.

Mura shakes her head. “You already have yours, and I want to be as strong as you are. Why, getting tired?” She teases.

Kiro frowns. “Yeah, a little. My semblance only works during the day, remember? I can’t absorb sun energy at night, so I’m feeling really drained right now.” He sighs and stands up straight, making his way to her.

She lowers her stick and looks down. Kiro puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles. “You’ve been working so hard to get better. I know we’re getting close. It just takes time and patience. I promise, we’re going to figure this out, together.” He says softly.

Mura looks up at him and smiles back wearily. She yawns and nods. “Yeah… You’re right. I’m sorry.” She rubs her arm uncomfortably and looks away.

“Don’t be sorry. I know you’re frustrated and I… Huh?” Kiro trails off and looks distantly behind Mura. She looks up at him quizzically before turning around and following his gaze.

Aka sprints passed the clearing, mere feet away from where Mura and Kiro stand watching. Her head is down, and tears are running down her cheeks.

The two don’t even have time to process before Aka is out of sight from the clearing. 

They just stand there for a moment, trying to understand what they just watched.

“What was that about?” Kiro asks and drops his stick. Mura continues staring off in the direction Aka vanished in. “I don’t know…”

Kiro frowns. “I’ve never known Aka to cry.” He states and looks down at Mura. “Or have emotions in general.” He adds. Mura doesn’t look back at him.

He sighs. “You’re going to see what’s up, aren’t you?” Kiro grins.

Mura nods and glances back at him. “Give me an hour to try talking to her one on one, ok?” She says. Kiro nods and gives her a hug, which she gladly accepts. “Wish me luck.”

“You’ll need it.” Kiro says as he lets her go.

Mura smiles and turns, running off in Aka’s direction.

Kiro stares after her with another sigh. “As they say, curiosity killed the cat…” He shakes his head and looks down, picking up his discarded stick.

____________________________

Aka sits on the outskirts of the forest, a little more than a mile away from Kuo Kuana. 

The last thing she needs right now is to deal with people who are clueless to what she’s feeling. If she went home, her sister would wonder where she went. There is no way in hell that she would ever tell Sakura or her parents about what she just did. It goes against so many of her family’s strict rules.

She doesn’t know what to do. She can’t go home. She can’t go back to town. Once again, she feels completely alone. Nave and Sayu wouldn’t understand what she’s dealing with. She can’t even tell them what she had done, let alone seek their help. 

(What can I do…?)

Nothing. She has to just keep a strong face and deal with this on her own. She didn’t ask to be born into a family of assassins, or really just bloodthirsty murderers, but there’s nothing she can do to change it. So she might as well just power through to the end.

She finds her mind wandering to what it must have been like for her mother the first time she killed someone. With the way she carries herself now, it wouldn’t be surprising if she was proud or honored. But what if that’s not the case? What if she was scared? Did she run away at night, and break a family code just to tell the family of her victim just how sorry she truly was? Aka doesn’t dare ask.

Her sister on the other hand, is a different case. Aka knows how her first kill went. She even watched it happen. It was actually supposed to be her first kill, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it, leaving Sakura to take the life instead of her. 

Sakura holds a sense off pride in her work. She enjoys walking the streets and finding that no one is brave enough to make eye contact. Even the authorities are afraid of her. No one with any common sense would ever stand in the way of the great Sakura Kirai; a true killer.

Aka just sits upon a fallen log and cries. Not only is she a coward, but she’s also weak. 

She slowly looks up at the shattered moon as she continues crying.

Her crimson tail hangs low, swishing in the dirt. She allows her head to drop back to the ground, and finds that she no longer has any tears left in her. She can’t remember the last time she got a restful night of sleep, but she knows those chances are long gone.

She suddenly hears footsteps from behind her and she whips around, narrowing her eyes on her surroundings. Nothing’s there. 

She growls and slowly reaches for a long stick. She brings it up and stands ready for a fight, but nothing happens.

She grunts and turns back around, only to be met with a figure cloaked in black, much like how she was earlier. She isn’t given any time to react as the figure slams a fist into her face, and once again, everything goes dark. 

Aka wakes up in an unfamiliar room, with metal walls, floor, and ceiling. The walls are lined with shelves, each row containing various colored vials sitting neatly in rows. The room itself isn’t very bright, save for the few colored lights radiating off of computer monitors and from above a large, metal door on the far wall, opposite of the one she finds herself shackled to. 

(Shit. Great job, Aka. Look what you’ve gotten yourself into now. Too busy crying to focus on not getting kidnapped. Idiot.)

As she’s taking in the visuals of the room, the blinking red light above the metal door suddenly turns solid green, sliding the door open to reveal a man.

He is certainly the most unique individual Aka has ever seen, at the very least. He’s an old man with light silver hair, and a beard that ends in a sharp point. His left eye is robotic, projecting a red glow. His right arm is also robotic, silver with a glowing red core. He is wearing a deep red turtleneck underneath a lab coat, bearing a strange ‘M’ symbol. 

Despite her current state of fear, Aka decides to make the power move and speak first.

“Who are you and what is this place? I’m not sure if you know this, but ‘science’ or whatever, isn’t really my thing. So if you could just let me go, that’d be great, thanks.” She snarks.

She lightly tugs on the shackles holding her to the wall while still maintaining stern eye contact with the man.

“Feisty, good. You’ll do just fine.” He smiles. “Your quick temper might be just what I need.”

Aka grimaces and tilts her head. “Excuse me?” She says.

“My name is Dr. Merlot. I’m a scientist. I have been conducting a very special experiment, which I feel you would be perfect for. You fit into all the categories that this project needs.” Merlot explains.

Aka frowns and narrows her eyes. “Categories?” She asks. 

“You are a Faunus who is bold, cunning, and fearless. Your hot headed nature would most likely prove useful, and on top of all that, your eyes. You are like one perfect little package, Aka Kirai.” He says.

Aka looks down. “My… Eyes?” She asks. He nods. “Yes. They’re silver, as I’m sure you’re aware. But what you probably don’t know, is what they can do.” Merlot says and walks over to the shelves.

He grabs a vial containing a dark red liquid, almost black, and carries it towards her. 

Her eyes widen and she shakes her head rapidly. “No! Wait, stop! I…” She glances at him and looks away. “…I um…” She searches for anything to say that can get her out of this.

“…I know of someone else who fits those categories!” She cries out.

Merlot stops walking towards her and a small smirk finds his face. “And what is their name?” He asks.

Aka keeps her head down and shuts her eyes tightly. Her breathing quickens and her fists clench.

“Well? I’m waiting.” Merlot says and takes another step towards her.

Aka sighs shakily. “Murasaki… Her name is Murasaki Chuya.”

Her parents are right.

Coward.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, I feel the first volume has officially ‘started’. Merlot’s role will be setting up the story for what’s to come of this experiment. This was also one of my favorite chapters of volume one, and I’m happy with how this turned out. 
> 
> Now that the story has ‘started’, I’m going to try to start with a regular schedule, putting a new chapter out every Saturday.


	5. Curiosity

Mura runs in the direction she remembers Aka taking off in, but with the combination of darkness from the night and the density of the forest, it’s not easy to tell where anything is. 

“Aka?!” She cups her hands together as a microphone and shouts. She hears nothing.

“Aka! It’s me! It’s… It’s Mura! Where are you?!” She looks around and stops walking, trying to listen for a response.

(Maybe I shouldn’t have said my name… She already hates me enough.)

There’s a clear view of the light given off from the moon up ahead, at the forest outskirts. Mura slowly walks out of the line of trees and looks around some more.

After a pause, her ear flicks to the side upon hearing what sounds like something dragging through the dirt. 

She still has her stick from her training with Kiro, so she holds it tightly in a fighting stance as she sprints forward and turns the corner around a large tree.

Instantly she sees a person cloaked in black, dragging a body. It takes Mura a moment before her eyes adjust to the limited light, and once she can see a little clearer, she sees that the body is Aka.

Mura gasps and her ears flatten. The mysterious figure jumps back and drops Aka, reaching into their cloak. 

Before she could see what they were doing, she sprints towards them and swings her stick their way.

They retract their hand from their cloak in time after grabbing something and dodges out of the way. They step to the side and sweep their leg into Mura’s, knocking her to the ground.

Mura lands on her back and gasps for breath after the wind is knocked out of her. She shakes her head and takes a few seconds to stand back up. Once she looks up, she sees that the stranger had pulled a knife from their cloak.

Her eyes hover on the weapon and she tries her best to stay calm. “Who are you?!” She demands.

The stranger just stares at her from behind their hood and provides no response. 

Mura knows that she can’t win this fight, sticks are not as effective as weapons than knives are. She’s fully expecting to fail. But, if she can somehow manage to pull the stranger’s hood down and see their face, then she knows who to describe when sending out a search party for Aka later. Mura and Aka may not like each other. At all. But regardless of personal feelings, no one deserves to be left behind.

The stranger swings their knife at Mura, to which she gasps and holds up her stick instinctively. The blow was successfully blocked. The stranger kept a wide stance, leaving an opening from below.

Mura notes that her opponent is considerably taller than her and uses that to her benefit.

She ducks under underneath her opponent with a swift front roll. She flips to her backside and strikes them in the right shoulder, hard enough to make them temporarily lose feeling in their whole arm, causing them to drop their knife.

(I’ve only got a few seconds.)

She pulls back on their hood and only gets a glimpse of their face. It’s a woman with short blonde hair, yellow wolf ears, deep purple eyes, and a wide scar over her left eye.

Mura stares at her, something about this woman is familiar but she can’t tell what it is, but her trail of thought is cut off by a sharp painful feeling in her stomach. 

She gasps and slowly looks down to see the woman’s outstretched arm, and her knife run straight through her. 

Mura gasps again as she begins to feel numb, and her vision starts darkening. 

The woman pulls her knife from Mura with a trail of blood and lets her fall to the ground. 

The last thing she sees is Aka getting dragged away before she passes out.

_________________________

Kiro has been pacing back and forth in his home for the past hour, just waiting for Mura and possibly even Aka to return. 

(She said to give her an hour… What’s taking them so long? What if something happened to her?)

He can’t stand the thought of Mura being in danger. Begrudgingly, he grabs Okami and heads out the door, back in the direction of the forest.

He walks passed the clearing where he and Mura had trained earlier and follows the same way he remembers the girls taking off in. 

“Mura!? Aka!? Where are you two!?” Kiro shouts. His vision is nearly perfect, making it easier as he keeps his eyes on the ground, looking for any indication that Mura had come through here.

After finding nothing, he begins to feel increasingly concerned for Mura.

And Aka.

He cups his hands together and shouts. “Mura!?” He calls out again. He’s met with no response yet again. 

He spends about a half hour just searching the area to no avail when he reaches the outskirts of the forest and finds scuff marks in the dirt. He trails his gaze up further to see her.

Mura is lying on the ground. The dirt around her darkened by her blood. Her hand limply lays across her stomach and her whole body is still.

“Mura!” Kiro gasps and rushes to her side, gently picking her up as he kneels in the dirt beside her. He instantly presses two fingers to her neck and pauses for a second.

He lets out a sigh of relief when he finds a steady pulse. “Someone! Please, anybody! Help!” He pleads as loud as possible and keeps his eyes trained on her face.

“Just hold on, Mura… It’s going to be okay…”

________________________________

Vacuo.

(They are just monsters. You can never trust them. Just remember what they did.)

Rozu sits waiting in his family living room, just watching the clock when he hears an expected knock on the door. He stands up and stretches, making his way over to the front door.

He glances back at his father, Hasan Yujin, from where he sits in the kitchen reading the news on his scroll. “I’m heading out.” Rozu says. 

Without even a glance, Hasan slowly nods. “Be safe.” He deadpans. Rozu nods and opens the door. He’s met with a wide smile.

His best friend, Mika Nanni stands on his porch, sweetly rocking back and forth with her hands clasped together. 

“Hey, Mika. You seem happy.” Rozu smiles back and shuts the door behind him. Mika shrugs.

“Well, can you blame me? This is the first time we’ve gotten the chance to hang out since graduating from Oscuro Academy! Four long years finally paid off, and now we’ve got plenty of downtime!” She twirls excitedly as she gets off the last step and exits into the street.

Rozu rolls his eyes, but grins. “We would have gotten more chances before if you spent less time worrying about grades and studies.” He follows her down and they begin walking down the street.

“You’re just jealous that I did better in school than you.” Mika giggles. Rozu throws his hands up. “Fine, you got me. So, where are we going?” He asks and lowers his hands.

“There’s this great restaurant downtown called The Curry-osity Club, and I really want to try it! Guess what they serve there!” She beams.

Rozu sighs. “Curry?” He says.

“Curry! I can’t wait to see this place!” Mika jumps up enthusiastically. Rozu frowns. “You only want to go for the name.” He says. Mika nods. “It’s a pun, Rozu! Everything about this place is perfect!” She claps happily.

Rozu stifles a laugh. “But… You’ve never even been there. How do you know that it’s—“

“I just _know_ , Rozu! Don’t question me!” She smiles bright.

Now, Rozu doesn’t even attempt to hide his laughter. “You are by far, the weirdest person I have ever met.” He shakes his head. Mika nods. “That’s why we’re friends!”

They reach the restaurant and Rozu has to stop Mika from nearly fainting at seeing it in person. It’s a small building with an open roof, set with rows of patio tables topped with umbrellas to shield from the sun. The building is like most in Vacuo, made from hardened mud bricks. Only this building is painted an array of yellows, oranges, and reds. On top of the red doors is a large sign that says ‘The Curry-osity Club’ in bold orange letters.

The two enter and take a seat at one of the patio tables on the roof, on the closest end to the balcony, overlooking the city.

Their waiter brings them each a bowl of curry, to which Mika is overly excited. They just sit, eating and talking while enjoying the view of their home settlement, Coquina. 

“So, Rozu. Now that we’ve graduated, what should we do now? I mean, should we go to Shade next, or do you have other plans…?” Mika asks curiously while shoveling curry into her mouth.

Rozu sighs and sets down his spoon. “I don’t know… I haven’t really thought that far ahead. School was tedious, but at least it gave me something to do. But I’m not sure if Shade is the best idea.” He says.

Mika looks sideways at him. “What are you talking about?” She asks.

“I mean, Shade is in the City of Vacuo. I know it’s not too far, but I just… I don’t know…” He shrugs and takes another bite. 

The conversation derails and the two just sit in silence for a moment, before Mika glances at him with a worried look.

“Is it because of Hana…?” She asks quietly. Rozu looks down. “I…”

Behind them, a pair of Faunus move to take their seats. One is a boy with a pair of long, grey bunny ears, and the other is a young girl with a grey cotton tail.

As the boy pulls out his seat, he accidentally bumps into Mika, making her spill her bowl.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, miss! I didn’t mean to—“

“Hey, just watch what you’re doing. You’re capable of that, right?” Rozu frowns and narrows his eyes at the boy. 

Mika goes from looking at her spilled bowl, to flashing Rozu the same look he’s giving the Faunus boy. “Rozu…” She warns.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” The boy asks innocently. Rozu rolls his eyes and clenches his fist.

“There was plenty of room, and plenty of other seats. Why is it that you happened to go for that one? Now, thanks to you, my friend can’t finish her meal.” He spats.

The boy raises his hands peacefully. “I really am sorry, and I’m willing to pay for her meal. I didn’t mean to provoke you in any way.”

“Yeah, well you did. Now why don’t you and your little friend there get out before you ruin my day any more.” Rozu starts to stand up when Mika stops him.

“Really, Rozu. It’s no big deal. I’m sure it was an accident. There’s no need to cause a scene.” She speaks slowly.

Rozu growls. “ _an accident…_ ” He mutters.

Mika turns to the Faunus boy, and the girl joining him at his side. “I’m sorry for my friend… He’s just…” She glances back at Rozu. “Having a hard time.” She says sadly and looks back to the boy with a smile. “I’m Mika. It’s nice to meet you.” She extends her hand.

He smiles back nervously and shakes her hand. “Nice to meet you too, Mika. I’m Gin, and this is my sister, Rea.” He says.

“You seem really nice. And as for the curry, don’t worry about it. I was full anyways.” Mika smiles sweetly. 

“You sure? I’m willing to pay for it.” Gin offers.

“Positive. Just enjoy your meal. Rozu and I were about to leave, anyways. Maybe we’ll see you around.” Mika says.

Gin smiles and nods. “Yeah, maybe. Well, it was nice meeting you, Mika.” He says and motions for Rea to sit back down.

Mika returns to Rozu and pulls his arm up, forcing him to stand. “But I’m not done—“

“We’ll take it to-go.” She frowns and grabs his bowl, leading him to the stairs that lead down from the roof.

After paying and letting the staff know about the spill, Rozu and Mika leave and they start walking down the street until the restaurant is out of sight.

They walk for a while, just letting the silence loom over them like a dark cloud.

Finally, Mika stops walking and looks at him, glaring daggers. He’s taken aback and throws his hands up innocently. “What?” He asks.

“What was _that_ , Rozu?” She crosses her arms. Rozu slowly lowers his hands. “What’s the problem? He had it coming.” He states.

“No. He didn’t! It was an honest mistake _and_ he apologized! Your behavior was completely uncalled for!” She shakes her head and looks away from him.

Rozu takes a step towards her. “Mika, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cross a line.” He says softly. 

Mika sighs. “You never mean to, and yet you always do. And you always apologize to me. When really, you should apologize to them. How much longer are you going to do this, Rozu? I can’t just keep apologizing for you. I don’t want to anymore. I know you’re a good person, but I’m still waiting for you to start acting like it.” She looks down in defeat.

Rozu looks at her sorrowfully and sighs. “If it will make you feel better, I’ll try.” He says. Mika shakes her head.

“No. Don’t do it for me. You need to do it for _you_. I get why you feel this way, but you have to understand that the longer you allow yourself to be blinded by spite, the harder it will be to open your eyes to reality later. You just need to take that first step.” She closes the distance between them and places a hand on his shoulder.

“And what’s the first step?” He asks in defeat. Mika smiles sympathetically.

She glances back at the building behind her. Hanging on the wall is an old, beaten up flyer that reads: ‘HAVEN ACADEMY, BE A HERO.’

Her smile widens as she looks back to him. His eyes land on the flyer and instantly snap back to her.

“Mika… You can’t be serious. That is _way_ farther than the City of Vacuo.” He shakes his head.

“Exactly! This place holds too many bad memories for both of us. I mean, with your sister and my parents. Maybe a big change like this is exactly what we need!” She beams and grabs both his shoulders. 

Rozu sighs. “I can already tell that I can’t talk you out of this…” He mumbles. “Nope!” She giggles. “Sorry, Rozu! You can’t stop my curry-osity!” She winks and lets him go.

He lowers his head. “…I’ll talk to my parents…” He grumbles. Mika smiles. “Great! I’ve gotta get back to the home, but I’ll see you tomorrow!” She jumps up and kisses him on the cheek before running off and throwing him one final wave.

He waves back as she disappears down the road. As he lowers his hand, he glances back at the flyer.

Haven Academy. Be a _hero_.

(Damn my own curry-osity.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All four members have now been introduced. This chapter came out a lot better than I thought it would, and I am really happy that most of the key pieces for the story are now falling into place.
> 
> Chapter 6 on the 21st instead of Saturday. 
> 
> Also, my excitement matched Mika’s at coming up with the name “Curry-osity”. Best part of the chapter.
> 
> :)


	6. Haven Academy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am horrible at keeping to a schedule since I always finish chapters early, so here’s an early chapter 6. :)

Before she can bring herself to open her eyes, she takes a moment to regain feeling in her body. The nearly shuddering breaths that escape her mouth. The pulsing, stinging pain in her stomach. The tight bandages wrapped around her as though she were a mummy.

A ray of natural light shining on her face makes her shut her eyelids tighter and slightly turn her head away.

With a soft sigh, her eyes flutter open and she takes in her surroundings. She’s back at Kiro’s house, in the room she had been sharing with him for the past two years. She’s in the bed that they alternate every night between there and the couch in the corner. The yellow sheets hugging her body bring some form of comfort.

Her eyes land on the couch to see Kiro resting his head against the arm of the couch and his eyes shut tightly.

Mura groans and forces herself to sit up and let the comforter fall. She’s wearing her pajamas now, her black shorts and purple top. Only her top is rolled up to beneath her chest, revealing her bandaged stomach.

She places a hand over where she feels the most pain and winces.

Her ears wilt as she return her gaze to Kiro. He begins to stir and opens his eyes, instantly landing on her. 

“Mura!” He immediately gets up and rushes over, sitting at the foot of the bed. “You’re awake! How do you feel? Are you in pain? Is there anything I can do to—“

He stops once she looks down in contemplation and stares at her clothes. “What is it?” He asks.

She clears her throat. “Did you change my clothes…?” She asks in a small voice.

Kiro’s face instantly turns beat red and he looks away, unable to meet her gaze. “Well I—! I… Um… Your clothes from last night… They um… They were stained… You know… Because of the blood… So I just… Um…” His ears fold flat against his head and he pouts adorably.

Mura slightly blushes and sighs, her tone becomes serious. “…The blood…” She says quietly. Kiro’s attention is pulled back to her, the scarlet blush still tinting his cheeks.

“Yeah… What happened? Did Aka do that to you?” He asks, also shifting the conversation.

Mura’s head instantly shakes rapidly. “No! It wasn’t like that! I just… Aka… She…” She trails off. 

Kiro tilts his head. “What is it?” He asks.

“I lost her…” Mura says quietly and looks down.

Kiro gives her a quizzical look. “Well, she probably made it back to town this morning… Honestly, I don’t think you should worry about—“

“No, Kiro! I mean I _lost_ her!” Mura takes a deep, shaky breath. “When I showed up, she was unconscious and being dragged away by a woman. I tried to fight her, but I wasn’t able to do much… I know Aka and I aren’t on the best of terms… But…”

Kiro smiles. “But you knew that the right thing to do would be to help a person in need, regardless of who they are.” He says.

Mura nods slowly. “Yeah…” She says. Kiro sighs. “So this woman kidnapped Aka… Did you at least get a good look at her face?” He asks.

Mura gives one quick nod. “Yes. She had short, blonde hair. Yellow wolf ears… Dark purple eyes… Kind of like… Yours…” She trails off as she stares at Kiro’s face and features. 

Kiro’s face pales. “And she had a scar over her left eye… Didn’t she…?” He looks off to the side. Mura stares at him in question. “Yeah… How did you…?” She studies him.

His eyes are distant. He looks absolutely livid, but wistful. “Kiro…?” Mura asks. “…Who was she?”

He closes his eyes for only a moment and takes a deep breath, reopening them and meeting her gaze.

“My mother.”

____________________________

(Run.)

Noto has never run so fast in her life. She never could have imagined this. To be running down the street with Atlas military soldiers chasing her, after she just killed her own brother.

(Taiko…)

She shuts her eyes and shakes her head, trembling sobs making her falter while sprinting.

Her target is the docks. If she can escape the soldiers and hide below the deck of a cargo ship, she could get out of the kingdom. Anywhere, even Vacuo would be better than staying here and getting thrown in prison for a crime she never wanted to commit. A crime that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

She glances behind her and sees that three soldiers wearing white and red Atlas military uniforms are chasing closely behind her with guns in hand. 

(How could I have done this…)

Noto shudders and turns back forward and turns a sharp left down a street with heavy traffic. She stops running and turns to face the soldiers.

“Noto Amet. By the order of General Ironwood, you are under arrest for the murder of Taiko Amet. Please, come quietly and face retribution for your crime.” A woman, the head soldier of the three says.

Noto takes a step back and shakes her head unconsciously. One soldier reaches his hand towards her. Instinctively, she grabs his wrist and shoves him back before turning and rushing into oncoming traffic.

The soldiers give chase and rush into the street after her. Tires screech as sudden brakes are made.

Noto doesn’t even check to see if the soldiers are following her. The moment she reaches the middle of the street, she pulls out Hatobureika and folds it into a spear.

She points the weapon at a street light and the spear head shoots off with the press of a button, a black cord connects the two pieces. The spear head wraps around the pole and pulls her over the remaining lines of cars. 

She swings herself to the other side of the street and continues running down an alleyway without glancing back at the soldiers.

Noto hears one solider on the radio, close behind her as she continues running. “We are in southern Mantle, sector four. Target is heading towards the back alley of Schnee dust warehouse 7, administer road block now.” The woman says.

Noto gasps as a large black truck speeds forward and comes to a full stop right at the end of the alley. The door opens and another soldier steps out with a gun. 

Noto stops and searches for an alternative way to go and sees a small window on the second floor of the building. 

She nods to herself and runs at the soldier. He reaches forward in an attempt to grab her, but she ducks out of the way, grabs his arm, and flips herself around to his back. She lands her feet squarely on his shoulders and jumps to the window, smashing through and landing in the building, covered in glass. 

Her arm bleeds from a large shard of glass buried in her shoulder. She winces as she pulls herself up. Two of the soldiers run up the staircase and pursue her.

She turns and runs towards the stairs leading up to the next floor. The soldiers give chase. “Target is heading to the roof of Schnee warehouse 7, requesting air support.” The woman soldier says into her radio.

Noto runs to a door and finds it locked, silently curses to herself and turns to another window. With a deep breath, she takes a step back and starts sprinting at it, the soldiers on her heels.

She pulls her bow string back as she makes contact and smashes through the window. She releases the arrow, trailed by a pink ribbon. The arrow sticks into a pipe on the roof, and she holds on tightly to the ribbon.

She swings herself around by running along the side of the building, throwing herself over the edge of the roof and landing atop the warehouse.

Noto stands and pulls her arrow back, holding it in one hand and her bow in the other. 

She looks off the side and sees the docks in sight. A cargo ship is being loaded by a man wearing pilot attire.

(I’m so close…)

Her eyes shoot upwards as an Atlas military airship hovers overhead. The two soldiers barge through the door to the roof, guns pointed directly at her. She’s cornered.

“Noto Amet. Lay down your weapon and surrender peacefully.” The woman orders.

(What do I have left to lose?)

Slowly, Noto takes a step back, towards the ledge. The soldiers take a step forward.

She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She brings herself fully on the ledge, a strong wind would knock her off.

“Noto Amet. Step away from the ledge. That’s an order.” The woman says.

Noto shakes her head. “I’m not a soldier.”

She takes a final step back and extends her arms out at her sides as she falls.

In that moment, she questioned where she would even go now. She’ll make it to the ship, but what then? She’ll just never return home. Never see her family. Never see Taiko. For a brief second, she considered letting herself fall all the way to the ground. But something pulls her forward, compelling her to go on. This something is what brings her to notch her arrow and pull the string back on Hatobureika.

(Atlas airship.)

The arrow flies and sticks into the side of the ship. She quickly grabs onto the ribbon and swings herself away from the building, towards the docks.

As she swings forward, she lets go of the ribbon and rolls as she lands on the stone pavement.

She continues her sprint towards the cargo ship. The pilot sees her coming and throws her a confused look.

At the last second, she pulls out her wallet and gives it to him before ducking through the door and hiding below deck.

The pilot boards after her and the door shuts, putting a barrier between Noto and the soldiers.

On the radio, she hears General Ironwood’s voice. “All military personnel stand down, that’s an order.”

“Yes, sir.” The woman’s voice replies.

Noto stays below deck, just staring out the window. At this point, she finally gives in and allows herself to cry. She sobs and curls in on herself, burying her face in her knees.

The ship takes off, beginning it’s trip to leave Solitas, to some other part of the world. Some other kingdom, with no home, no family. No Taiko. She has nothing now.

After her fit of sobbing, she slowly lifts her head and looks around for any indication of where she might be going.

On the far wall, opposite end of the ship as her, is a flyer.

HAVEN ACADEMY: BE A HERO.

( _Hero…?_ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halfway through volume one. Only six more chapters to go.
> 
> Next week, I won’t be keeping a regular upload schedule (Not that I keep one anyways) since I’m leaving town Friday. But I will still continue writing chapters and just post them whenever I get the chance.


	7. One More Night

“Mura! I’m back! You up?” Kiro’s voice calls from downstairs.

Mura stares blankly out the window at the night cloaked streets of Menagerie and the heavily pouring rain. She barely acknowledges his words as she sits there, deep in thought.

It’s another night, and another day gone with no sign of Aka or Kua. Kiro has been checking in with the police each day since the incident while Mura has been bed-ridden, and it amounts to nothing. 

There’s a knock on the bedroom door and Kiro pokes his head in. “Mura?” He says quietly.

She provides no response and keeps her eyes locked on the window, watching the rain.

Kiro sighs and walks over to the bed. He pokes her shoulder, resulting in a small jump from the cat Faunus.

“Kiro! S… Sorry. I was just… Um…” She stops when he holds up a hand to silence her.

“You worry too much.” He grins.

Mura rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “She still hasn’t come back yet, Kiro. And if the authorities can’t find her, then it’s all my fault.” She looks down.

“I was right there. I could have helped her. I want to be a huntress, but what good am I if I can’t even save _one_ person?” Her ears lower and her eyes slightly blur.

Kiro sighs and gives her a tight hug. “You did your best. You were brave and fought to help someone, even when you knew you wouldn’t win. All that matters is that you tried.” He smiles. 

Kiro leans back, releasing her from his grasp. Mura sniffles and takes a deep breath. “Anything on your mom? Has she been found yet?” She slightly changes the subject.

He sighs again. “Um… In this instance, can we not refer to her as my mom? I don’t want to associate under these circumstances.” He tenses up.

Mura offers him a quick nod. “Anything on Kua?” She corrects. 

Kiro shakes his head. “Nothing. No one has seen anything of her since that night. I was really hoping for a lead…” He looks away from her.

She studies him. (Does he want to find her for Aka or himself?)

Mura’s expression softens. “Hey… Why don’t we go out tonight? We could walk around town for a bit. I think we could both use a break from all of this.” She suggests.

Kiro frowns. “Absolutely not. You’re still hurt, and shouldn’t be walking around, especially with Kua still at large.” He crosses his arms.

Mura growls and shifts in her place, messing up the blankets around her. She kicks them down completely and swings her legs over the side of the bed.

“I’m fine! You don’t have to baby me, Kiro! I’ve had days to recover, while you’ve been dealing with this on your own!” She snaps.

“What are you talking about? _You’re_ the one who got hurt!” He throws his arms out at his sides.

“By _your_ mother! Who left you! You’re hurting, Kiro! And yet you keep making this about _me_! Why won’t you talk to me? Don’t you trust me?” Now it’s her turn to cross her arms.

Kiro takes a step back and shakes his head. “Of course I do! I just don’t care that she left, so there’s nothing to talk about!”

“Stop lying to me! I can tell that you’re hurting! I’m here for you, Kiro!” Mura pushes off the bed and plants her feet firmly on the ground. She fully faces him.

“You need more rest, Murasaki! Just earlier you were telling me about how badly you were hurting!”

“Well I’m fine _now_! And if you don’t want my help, then I don’t want yours! _I’m_ going and I don’t care what you have to say about it!” She fumes and starts moving towards the door, but he steps in her way.

“Move!” She demands.

“No! You are going to stay here until you recover!” He balls his hands into fists and fights his anger.

“Are you going to talk to me about your mom?” Mura questions venomously.

Kiro freezes and her words pass straight through him, leaving behind only seething rage and pools forming in the corners of his eyes. “There’s nothing to talk about!” He barks, his body trembles.

“Then **move**.” She fights tears of her own as he steps slightly aside and turns his gaze away from her to hide his eyes.

She forces herself passed him, and it takes every remaining ounce of his will to not stop her as she storms out of the room.

After a few, seemingly long moments of silence pass, he hears the slam of the front door to his house.

_Don’t you go looking for a fight_.

Mura trudges down the street. The pouring rain masks the tears streaming down her cheeks. 

She can’t decide on what she’s feeling. Anger? Sadness? Frustration? Longing? It’s all running through her mind, over and over, telling her to both go back and apologise, and to get as far away from Kiro as possible.

With no family who remembers her, or friends she can turn to, she’s lost. She has no where left to go. She just needs time to think.

She briefly glances back at Kiro’s house from down the street, the one remaining light in the house goes out, before she lets out a sad sigh and turns away, heading towards the forest.

She sits in their training area, atop a tree stump. She shivers as a harsh wind rushes through, blowing droplets of rain from amongst the leaves above her down to her bare shoulders.

She hugs her body to try stopping her shivering, but she only makes it worse. She hates being outside in storms, getting cold and wet. She wants to be warm, in bed. With Kiro holding her in his arms as she falls asleep peacefully, listening to him hum his favorite song and listen to the rain fall from outside the window.

For the first time since her family forgot about her, she feels alone.

Mura looks up to try seeing the moon, but the rain clouds painting the night sky make it impossible to see anything.

Feeling worthless and defeated, she just cries into the night, not caring who hears her.

After a few minutes of solitude, a voice interrupts.

“You make yourself rather easy to find.” 

Mura jumps from her stump and spins around to find the source. She is instantly met with the brunt of a fist slamming against her cheek, throwing her back.

She winces and holds her hand on her cheek as her eyes land on her attacker.

She feels her anger resurfacing at the sight of her. Kua stares down at Mura with a smug grin worn across her face.

“You… Where is Aka?!” Mura stands up straight. Her ears fall flat against her head.

Kua shrugs. “You’ll see.” She hisses. 

“What?” Mura wants to push for more, but is cut short when a powerful kick to her back knocks her forward and onto her knees. Her hands are restrained tightly behind her back.

She twists her neck to the side to look behind her. At first glance, she would’ve looked like Aka. With her fiery red hair, but her eyes aren’t silver, they are burning amber. And she has a pair of crimson wolf ears atop her head. This woman is also a bit older than Aka. But it’s her smile that gives her identity away. This is Sakura Kirai.

“Sakura…? You betrayed your own sister?!” She exclaims and fights to break free from her grasp.

Sakura chuckles and sighs. Her smirk surpassing Kua’s in smugness by a long shot.

“It wasn’t personal.” She grins widely.

Mura shakes her head in question. “What do you mean?” She asks and keeps fighting to escape, but Sakura’s grip is hard as stone.

Kua answers for her. “She means that a job had to be done. Personal feelings matter little in the grand scheme of things, and compared to most of the shit we’ve seen and done, giving up family is trivial. We follow orders to the letter, and that’s that.”

Sakura leans closer to Mura’s ear. “But, Aka won’t have to be given up. She was the _perfect_ match. But the man behind this is willing to settle for _close enough_.” She sneers.

Mura locks eyes with Kua. “So was giving up Kiro worth it?” She asks accusingly.

Kua freezes. All previous signs of smugness are gone in an instant, and replaced with something else. Something indescribable.

She looks off to the side, breaking her gaze with Mura. Her ears fall flat and she takes a subtle deep breath.

“It wasn’t personal.”

Mura stares at her in disbelief and fury. She tries finding something to follow up with, but fails to formulate the words she’s looking for.

Kua nods to Sakura and turns around. Sakura laughs and holds Mura tighter before raising a fist and plunging it across the back of her head.

Mura feels her consciousness slip away as her vision darkens.

_…Because day always comes after night._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everything is coming together better than I imagined, and I’m really excited to be getting closer to the volume one finale.
> 
> As I mentioned in chapter 6, I won’t be regularly uploading next week, but I’ll just be writing chapters and putting them out whenever possible.


	8. Enemy Of My Enemy

Mura wakes up in pain, shaking and terrified, she wants to go home, to Kiro. 

Her arms are shackled to the wall behind her. The room she’s in is big and metal, and the walls are lined with shelves of colorful vials. There are only a few lights, making it difficult for her to see the blind spots of the room.

Once again, she curses her lack of night vision.

“Are you going to say something, or just keep looking around dramatically?” 

The sudden voice out of the dead silence makes her jump. The voice is laced with an unmistakable snark. It’s Aka.

Mura turns her head to see her, leaned against the wall beside her. “Aka…? You. _You_ did this? You’re working with them?” She shouts and clenches her fists.

Aka rolls her eyes. “Not like I had much of a choice. As they say; If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” She smirks.

Mura’s ears fall flat. “Did the great Aka Kirai just admit to not being able to do something? _You_ are scared of them?” She snaps. She pulls against the shackles and glances at them before looking back to her.

Aka snarls and kicks off the wall, glaring down at Mura. “Don’t act like you know me, Murasaki, because you don’t! I’m not _afraid_ of anything!” She snaps and takes a few steps towards her.

Mura shakes her head and frowns. “If you’re not afraid of anything, then why did you make my parents forget about me?!” She allows her anger to take control of her actions as she fights to get out of the shackles, to no avail.

Aka laughs. “Aw, sad that mommy and daddy don’t love you? Well get used to it! My parents hated me since the day I was born, and it never got better! Nothing would ever amount to the praise my sister had! I was thrown away, over and over again, and each time I managed to get back up was because I was strong enough to take it!” Her eyes blur and her body trembles. 

“Give it up, Aka! You try to make it seem like you’re invincible, when you’re not! You ran away the night you were going to kill me! I saw you crying the night you went missing! Kua managed to beat you! And instead of fighting back, you sold me out and _helped_ her! Just to save yourself! You’re nothing more than a selfish c—“

“ **Don’t** say it.” Aka warns.

“ _Coward_! You’re a coward, Aka! And instead of admitting it, you just drag everyone down with you! You made my parents forget me! If you hate your family so much, then why not erase _yourself_ from them?! You’re _scared_! And you’re too much of a coward to admit it!”

Aka says nothing.

“You’re always running away and hiding from your problems! You should stop bullets for the people you care about, but instead you just push them in front! _I’m_ strong! Because unlike you, I would walk fire if someone I cared about were at gunpoint!”

Aka throws her arms down at her sides, fists clenched tightly. She seethes with venomous hatred as she starts stomping towards Mura. But before she reaches her, the blinking red light above the door turns solid green.

The door opens, and Aka immediately stops in her tracks, turns around, and straightens her posture, crossing her hands behind her back.

“Doctor Merlot! Sorry, I wasn’t sure when you would be here, I stayed longer than I should have.” She turns her gaze to the floor. 

Mura narrows her eyes on her and resists a growl. 

Aka moves to start walking towards the door, but Merlot stops her. “You should stay, Aka. I may need help with your _friend_ here.” He says ominously. 

Aka and Mura exchange a glare to each other.

“We are _far_ from friends.” Aka snides. Mura turns her gaze away.

Merlot chuckles. “Well fine then. I need help with your… _Acquaintance_.” He compromises with a smile.

Aka slowly nods, avoiding Mura’s eyes. “B… But after this, I’m free to go… Right?” She worries.

Merlot nods. “Of course. I never go back on my word.” He says. 

Aka sighs with relief, a visible weight is lifted from her body. “Thank you!” She exclaims.

As Mura just watches the conversation go down, she starts zoning out of whatever it is they are discussing. She notices that on Aka’s back, she now has a staff made of red and grey metal, with black accents. There is a yellow crystal in the staff’s core, electricity dust. It also looks like is splits in half. 

(Did Merlot make that for her?)

Whatever conversation they were having derails, and Merlot grabs a vial from a shelf. Inside the vial is a dark red, almost black liquid.

He kneels beside Mura, making her try shrinking away, but the shackles forbid it. He extracts the liquid into a syringe and holds it to her neck. 

“This will only hurt a little.” He says complacently. Mura squirms and he grabs her shoulder, holding her in place. 

She holds her breath as he shoots it into her system. She winces, and quickly starts feeling her consciousness slip away and darkness encompasses her vision. 

Aka freezes. Her heartbeat seems to slow in that moment when Mura’s veins began to pulse and darken to near black. 

(She was right. This is all my fault.)

She slowly grabs her weapon, Arufa, from her back and holds it at her side. She looks down at her weapon, and then at Merlot where he’s still seated beside Murasaki.

He doesn’t notice her, he’s distracted by holding the serum in Mura’s neck, letting the syringe completely empty.

Aka begins to tremble, her mind races. Her fist tightens around the staff and her trembling suddenly stops. Her mind seems clear.

( _It’s now or never, Aka. **Do it.**_ )

Her breathing is heavy, she tries to keep a steady air stream, flowing in and out of her lungs. She takes a deep breath and slows her breathing.

In one swift motion, she strikes her staff into Merlot’s shoulder, forcing him to drop the serum. The vial shatters as it hits the ground, leaving a dark red puddle on the floor. 

And in an instant, she’s gone. 

Merlot looks as though he’s in a daze for a moment, and he looks down at the shattered vial on the floor in front of him. For some reason, he can’t remember how or why he dropped it, or why his shoulder is in pain.

All he knows is that Aka is gone.

_I would walk fire if someone I cared about were at gunpoint._

_____________________

Rozu and Mika took a few days to pack and say goodbye to Rozu’s parents and their friends, as well as adding modifications to their weapons. 

Rozu dual wields Honyaki blades, named Itta. They fold into pistols, with air dust infused bullets. 

Mika loves using her giant mace, which she called Chimei teki. The ball of the mace folds down and transforms into a grenade launcher and launches electric dust infused grenades.

Now they are on their way to Haven, taking a Vacuo airship to the kingdom of Mistral. 

Rozu stares blankly out the window of the ship, merely watching the ground below pass and their home be left behind them.

They have been flying for a few days, and it shouldn’t be much longer before they reach the city.

He suddenly feels a pinch on his shoulder and whips his gaze to see Mika standing over him with a look of frustration.

“Ow! What?” He rubs his shoulder and throws her an annoyed glare. 

Mika stares at him. “Um… I asked you if you were excited, but you didn’t answer? Did you not hear me or something? Or is something on your mind?” She plops down in the seat beside him and rests her chin in her hands.

Rozu straightens his back. “Oh, yeah. Sorry. I guess I zoned out a bit…” He murmured.

“Is everything okay?” Mika asks softly.

Rozu sighs and leans forward again. “No. Or… Yes? I don’t know. This is just all so crazy. Leaving home, I mean. We grew up in Vacuo, and now we’re going to a completely new kingdom. I’ll be surprised if we even get into Haven.”

Mika puts a hand on his shoulder. “The headmaster of Oscuro gave us our letters of recommendation to give to Headmaster Lionheart, so I think we’re good. And as for leaving home, I guess I don’t feel the same way about it as you do, since you have a family there. But you and I have known each other since we were three, and we’ve been together up until now, and we’re _seventeen_. _You_ are my family, so I know that since we’re going together, we’ll be okay. We always are.” She smiles bright.

He smiles back warmly. 

The airship suddenly shakes violently, causing Mika to fall into Rozu. He steadies her hand sits her upright, and he turns an angry gaze to the front of the ship. 

“Who’s flying this thing?!” He barks. 

Mika shrugs. “It could have just been turbulence. I’m sure it was nothing.” She tries to reason.

Rozu grumbles and stands up, making his way to the front of the ship and opening the door.

He sees the pilot. “Who are you, and what was that?” He asks impatiently.

The pilot turns her face to the side. She has deep emerald eyes, dark brown hair, and dark skin. She’s wearing mostly green, black and grey. She also has dark brown, feathered wings on her back.

Something about the look in her eyes seems ominous.

She smiles coldly. “My name is Stille Autem. As for what that was, don’t worry about it.” She says. Her voice is sharp, almost chilling. “We’re just passing over lake Matsu, and the gravity dust in the floating islands is causing some turbulence.” She explains.

Rozu crosses his arms and stares pointedly at her. “Are you sure it’s the dust that’s the problem?” He asks.

Stille’s face tightens into a look of irritation. “The hell’s _that_ supposed to mean?” She snaps.

Rozu smirks. “I’m just saying… Maybe we should consider intelligence as a possible fault here…” He shrugs and leans against the closest wall smoothly.

Stille frowns, her wings stiffen. “Do _you_ have the intelligence to fly this? Because in case you haven’t noticed, _I’m_ helping you and your friend. So if I were you, I’d sit down and be quiet.” She snaps.

His smirk grows. “Well maybe you should just—“ 

Stille presses a button on the console to open the rear door to the ship. Down in the cargo area, where Mika is.

“What are you doing!” He pushes off the wall and clenches his fists.

Stille smiles.

“Sit. Back. Down. And be quiet.” She commands.

Rozu turns and runs back to the cargo area, to find Mika hanging out of the back of the ship by a pole beside the open door. “Mika!” He calls to her.

Mika looks up at him pleadingly. “Rozu! Help me!” She cries.

Rozu looks around frantically and sees a wire neatly wrapped up on the far wall. He grabs it and tosses one end to her, which she holds on to tightly.

He starts pulling her back up, but the ship shakes violently again, sending Rozu toppling after her.

Now, he grabs onto the pole Mika was previously holding onto, as well as the wire, which has Mika on the other end.

“Mika! Don’t let go!” He calls back to her. He looks down to see that they aren’t even over the lake.

(She said the dust caused the turbulence… She’s doing this on purpose.)

“Rozu!” Mika calls up to him. He looks back at her. “Landing strategy!” She shouts.

His mind halts and he instantly gets her meaning.

He lets go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aka’s true colors are showing more and more every chapter she’s in.
> 
> More build up for this experiment of Merlot’s, and it plays a major role for the volumes to come.
> 
> Overall, I’m happy with how this chapter turned out. :)


	9. Time

Mura keeps her eyes closed as she begins to regain consciousness. She clenches and unclenches her fists, feeling a tingle in her fingers. Her heartbeat feels faster, and her head is pounding, making her feel dizzy.

“Dammit!” She hears a glass fall and clink on a wooden surface as Merlot curses.

The moment of recovery is cut short and she sighs, opening her eyes to see Merlot standing over his desk, holding vials in each hand, trying to create something in the beakers that are neatly arrayed before him.

She looks to the ground and sees the dark red stain in front of her before turning her gaze back to him.

“What are you doing?” She asks, her voice has a slight slur. 

Merlot drops both vials and one breaks on the ground as he jumps at her sudden voice.

“Oh! You’re awake! I was afraid I may have accidentally killed you.” He laughs nervously.

“What?” Mura asks innocently.

“The serum I gave you is still very experimental, so I had no idea what it would do in terms of side effects.” He kneels down and starts cleaning up the broken glass.

Mura frowns. “I did not need to know that. What did that ‘serum’ even do, besides give me a headache?” She asks and squints at realising how bad her headache really is.

He brushes the glass into a pan and dumps it into a trash bin beside his desk. “What does it do? Oh, you will see soon enough. I’d rather leave it as a surprise. It’s so much more fun that way.” He smiles and takes his seat in his computer chair.

He rolls the chair closer to her and starts examining her face and arms. 

Mura shifts uncomfortable. “What are you doing?” She asks.

“Just looking for any signs of the serum in your system. It appears to be completely masked when inactive. This is a good thing.” He leans back in his chair and props one leg over his knee.

Mura slowly nods. “Right…” She looks around quizzically and her eyes land back on him. “So I take it Aka claimed the grand prize of freedom after I passed out?” She asks to change the subject.

Merlot stares at her for a moment before looking away. He sighs. “I don’t know.” He says.

“What? How don’t you know?” Mura asks.

He looks her dead in the eyes. “I haven’t seen her since I gave you the serum. But I can only assume she left, seeing as she was so desperate to earn her freedom.” He explains.

Mura looks down. “What… Um… What kinds of things did she have to do to get out?” She asks apprehensively.

Merlot stands up from his chair. “Just this.” He says simply.

“You mean selling me out?” Mura deadpans.

“Yes, but it is much more complex than that. Know that she didn’t chose you at random. You were just the perfect scapegoat for her. And a close match for this experiment.” Merlot grabs a new vial and returns to his desk to start up some new chemicals.

Mura cocks her brow. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that Aka realised that she didn’t have much of a choice. It was either her or you, and judging by the argument I overheard you two have yesterday, you clearly aren’t on good terms with one another.” Merlot explains. 

Mura frowns and glares at him.

“And what I meant by you’re perfect, is that you are a Faunus with silver eyes, and it doesn’t hurt that you are at least semi-skilled in combat.” He states.

Mura’s expression shifts to confusion. “What do my eyes have to do with anything?” She asks innocently.

Merlot smiles and stands up, retrieving a scroll, a book and a pencil. He starts walking towards her.

“Given enough time, you will come to see how this all falls into place.” He says matter-of-factly. 

He holds the scroll up to a red panel on the wall beside her, and the electric shackles suspending her open, letting her arms fall to her sides.

She rubs her wrist and looks up at him. “You’re… Letting me go?” She asks. 

Merlot chuckles. “No. Do you like drawing?” He asks out of the blue.

Mura tilts her head and studies him. 

(Ok, it’s not just me. This guy’s crazy.)

“Yes…? Why?” She says slowly. He opens the book to reveal that the pages are blank, and that it’s a sketch book. He sets it, along with the pencil down in front of her.

“Draw me a weapon you feel would best suit you in battle. Be sure to provide details and how you would want it to function.” He says and turns to leave.

Mura’s ears perk up, and her face brightens. 

(Am I going to get my own weapon?! Like Aka did?!)

“Uh… Sure. Whatever. I can do that.” She says nonchalantly and picks up the book and pencil. Her attempt at being cool instantly fails.

Merlot laughs. “Get to it.” He orders.

Mura looks from the blank page to him. “Aren’t you worried I’ll run?” She questions. 

Merlot turns back to look at her. “Not at all. This place is armed with military grade attack droids, my own genetically modified sub-breeds of Grimm, as well as Kua and Sakura. Those two alone are a force to be reckon with.” He says.

(Genetically modified Grimm…? I didn’t know that was possible… What experiments does he have going on here…?)

He crosses his hands behind his back. “Now. Enough wasting time. Draw.”

______________________

Noto stares vacantly out the window of the ship, watching the blue streaks zip passed as they cross over Lake Matsu, heading east.

“So, do you even know where you’re going, kid? ‘Cause I’ve got some business in Mistral and only have time for one quick stop.” The pilot of the ship says, his voice breaking the heavy silence.

Noto keeps her eyes locked on the window. “Don’t bother stopping. Mistral’s fine.” She deadpans. She shuts her eyes tightly.

(Anywhere’s fine but Atlas… Anywhere but home.)

She misses home. She misses her family. Most of all, she misses her brother.

(I need better control of my mind… I wish I never got this semblance.)

“Haven, huh?” The pilot says with his eyes trained forward, keeping his hands firmly on the wheel.

Noto slightly lifts her head and looks over at him with dull eyes. “How do you know I’m going to…” She trails off, saying that she’s going to Haven out loud feels foreign to her. It should have been Atlas.

“The flyer in your hand. It’s for Haven.” He points out and motions to it.

Noto looks down at it and loosens her grip, letting the crumpled paper slightly unfold, showing part of the academy’s silhouette. “Oh… Right.” She murmurs and returns her attention back to the window.

A few more moments of silence pass, the minutes feel like hours. The dread looming overhead giving an unbearably desolate aura.

Once again, the pilot speaks. “So, why’d you do it?” He asks casually, still keeping his eyes forward. 

The question takes Noto by surprise. It takes her a moment to process their meaning and the reality of what she did. But the calm way he asked it sends a spark of rage into her heart. “Excuse me?” She narrows her eyes at him.

The pilot remains calm. “I’ve been doing business for your family for a long time, Noto. Since your family is well associated with the Schnee Dust Company, add in the fact that both of your parents are former special operatives of General Ironwood. I know all about the type of people you are, and that includes you. I know you’re not a bad person. So I’ll ask again. Why did you do it?” He explains and briefly glances at her.

Noto’s fist tightens around the flyer, her knuckles turn white. Her other hand shakes and she clenches it, trying to force it to be still. “It was an accident.” She says through gritted teeth.

“How so? All I know is that you were in the middle of the exams to get into Atlas Academy when Taiko Amet was killed.”

Just the mention of his name sends her over the edge. The words spoken aloud by someone else, in such a manor was too much to deal with and she just lets go.

Noto shoots up from her seat, her fists clenched tightly at her sides, one holding the flyer and the other ready to punch something, and if he doesn’t stop talking, it will be him.

“Why don’t you shut up before I make you regret ever helping me! It’s not your place to talk about this subject, especially not with me! So unless you never want to make it to Mistral, I suggest you keep quiet and fly the damn ship!”

She accidentally rips the flyer and lets it fall to the ground, never looking away from the pilot.

He just keeps his eyes forward and his hands on the wheel. “Sorry I… I shouldn’t have said anything…” He mutters.

Noto takes a deep breath and returns to her seat. She turns back and looks out the window once again. “No. You shouldn’t have…” 

They fly in complete silence for a few more minutes, when Noto sees another air ship amongst the floating islands.

“Isn’t that a Vacuo ship?” Noto asks quizzically. The pilot clears his throat and glances out the window as well. “Sure is. Let’s just hope they don’t cause us any trouble. You know how Vacuo is.” He says.

Noto looks closer. “There’s… Something behind it…?” She squints her eyes to making out what she sees. 

She gasps and jumps back. “There’s people over there! They’re falling out of the ship! We have to help them!” She exclaims and turns to him.

The pilot shakes his head. “No. It could be a trick to try robbing cargo ships like this one. I’ve seen weirder methods than that. And on top of that, we don’t have any time to spare. We just need to make it to Mistral.” He states.

Noto scoffs. “Well, you said we have time for one quick stop. So here it is. Just drop me off here!” She orders and grabs her weapon. 

The pilot sighs. “You’re going to get yourself killed.” He says.

Noto rolls her eyes. “If I’m going to be a huntress, I need to learn to protect others, even if it means putting myself in danger. And besides, this doesn’t seem too risky compared to a Grimm attack or something.” She says and starts walking towards the door. “Open the door!” She barks and holds Hatobureika ready.

The door to the cargo area slides open, filling the space with intense wind. Noto tries to calm her mind as she draws an arrow. 

(Vacuo ship, right side.)

She releases the arrow and it sticks into the side of the ship, with a ribbon attached.

Holding onto the ribbon, she jumps out of the cargo ship, swinging towards the people falling out the back of the ship.

It’s two people. The boy has black hair, and is wearing mostly black and red. He’s hanging onto a pole on the side of the open door with one hand, and the other is holding a wire with a girl with brown hair and a black dress with yellow armor on the other end.

Noto swings towards them head-on. 

“Incoming!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long on this chapter, but I’m going to try finding a balance between school and writing so that it doesn’t take ages to get just one chapter done anymore. 
> 
> Anyways, more exposition this chapter as well as more Noto time. And now characters are starting to cross paths, so things will start progressing more in terms of story.
> 
> :)


	10. Force Of Destiny

“Rozu! Landing strategy!” Mika shouts.

Rozu lets go of the pole. Continuing to hold on would do them no good with this crazy lady flying the ship. They need to get on the ground.

He and Mika start falling, lucky for them they learned landing strategies at Oscuro Academy before graduating, and now they actually get to put those skills to use.

Mika pulls out her mace to crash the ground on impact, letting the weapon take the hit instead of her, and Rozu readies his blades to hook on a tree branch, but his attention is suddenly pulled elsewhere.

“Incoming!!”

He looks over to see a girl with pink hair in two braids and a pink skirt and crop top swinging towards them on a ribbon attached to their air ship.

He doesn’t even have time to process what’s happening before she crashes into him.

They all fly into a tall pine tree, Rozu and Noto land ungracefully on a thick branch near the top, while Mika landed lower while holding onto the wire.

Noto stands up, and fires an arrow into another branch. She jumps and slides down the attached ribbon, landing perfectly on the ground below. 

Rozu slips off the branch and falls with an ungraceful thud, and Mika follows, landing directly on top of him. 

Mika jumps up to her feet immediately. “Sorry, Rozu! But thanks for breaking my fall!” She laughs nervously and looks to the girl.

Rozu gets up as well, brushing the dirt off his clothes. “Yeah… No problem…” He mumbles. He also looks to Noto.

“What the hell?! We had that under control!” Rozu exclaims. 

Noto frowns. “Sorry, but your screaming in terror suggested otherwise. I didn’t _have_ to help!” She crosses her arms. 

Rozu growls. “You _didn’t_ help!”

Noto goes to add something else, but Mika places a hand on Rozu’s shoulder and he seemingly relaxes a bit under her touch. 

“Rozu… It’s alright. All that matters is that we’re alive. It makes no difference _how_ we got down.” Mika smiles softly and turns to Noto. “What is your name?” She asks.

Noto pauses for a moment as she looks into Mika’s eyes. She looks so sweet, and she seems like a genuinely nice girl. She feels her heartbeat quicken, but she takes a deep breath and shoves it aside.

(Keep your mind under control, Noto… You can’t think about people with a semblance like yours.)

Noto forces a smile. “Noto Amet.” She leans a little closer. “And you are?” She asks.

Mika nods and slightly leans back. “I’m Mika Nanni… And this is my friend, Rozu Yujin.” She says and motions to Rozu.

Noto leans back as well. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Rozu and Mika. Where are you two headed?” She asks and tilts her head.

Rozu slightly shakes his head at Mika, who ignores him. “We’re going to Mistral. We’re hoping to enroll at Haven Academy.” Mika says.

Noto gasps. “No way! Me too!” She says excitedly. 

Rozu looks at her sideways. “Really? Where are you coming from?” He asks.

Noto freezes again.

(Atlas… My home…)

“Um… I’m from Atlas.” Noto answers simply. Rozu studies her. “Atlas, huh? Does that mean you hate Faunus?” He asks bluntly. Mika jabs his side.

Noto shakes her head quickly. “Oh, no! Of course not! Personally, I think Faunus are so cute! But, I can understand why people would assume that about me. The Schnee Dust Company doesn’t exactly give Faunus a warm welcome to our kingdom….” She says sadly.

Mika nods slowly. “I guess that’s true. Though we’re coming from Vacuo, so we’re not as familiar with the Faunus discrimination that comes from Atlas.”

Rozu rolls his eyes, but tries to hide it from Mika. “Well, it’s been really um… _Nice_. Meeting you, Noto. But we should really get going…” He tries to steer Mika away.

Mika steps around Rozu and goes back to Noto. “Hey, Noto. Wanna come with us to Mistral? We’re going to the same place, after all. And we could probably use the extra help.” Mika offers.

Noto’s smile falters a little.

(Just don’t think about them… Don’t think about people…)

She forces her smile to return and nods. “I’d love to.” She says.

Mika giggles. “I mean, we kinda owe you for saving us.” She says.

Rozu grumbles and starts walking away. “She didn’t save us!” He exclaims.

Mika and Noto glance at each other. Noto leans forward and lowers her voice. “I totally saved you.” She winks. “Let’s go!”

________________________

“You may enter.” Merlot’s voice booms over the intercom.

Mura stands at another big metal door with a blinking red light above it. The light turns solid green and opens, but Mura hesitates before entering the massive room.

One of the two androids escorting her jabs her back, pushing her forward into the room. 

The door instantly shuts, leaving Mura there alone. She rubs her back and growls. “Rude…” She huffs and looks around the room.

The corners of the room are filled with glowing blue pods. The ground is a combination of stone and tinted glowing green dirt that looks radioactive. The walls are metal, complete with several large screens, each showing Merlot’s face. In big, red letters on the wall writes ‘TESTING LAB’.

Mura sighs and looks to one of the screens displaying Merlot’s face. “Um, doctor? Where am I?” She asks.

“You can read, Murasaki. You are in the testing lab!” Merlot says joyfully. 

Mura looks at the words on the wall and thinks. “‘Testing’?” She questions.

As she says it, one of the glowing blue pods begins to glow brighter, and a Grimm, a glowing green Creep emerges.

Mura’s ears fold back in fear and she feels as though she shrinks at the sight of the creature. “Uh… Merlot! I don’t have any way to defend myself! What are you doing!?” She manages to dodge out of the way as the Creep attempts a strike at her. She turns back to face it and it snarls, preparing to charge at her again.

“Prove your strength!” Merlot says.

Mura scoffs and narrows her eyes at the screen. “But I don’t even want to be here! Why are you doing this?!” She shouts.

“Fight or die! That’s how it works in this world, regardless of whether or not you are ready!” He narrows his eyes back, but a smirk is worn across his face.

Mura fails to react in time as the creep charges at her again, ramming her back and damaging her aura. She grunts as it dives for her again, trying to bite at her arm.

“Catch!” Merlot shouts. A hatch opens up from above Mura’s head, and the exact weapon she had drawn comes falling towards her. 

As it gets close enough, Mura grabs it by the handle. She had designed a black, sawed-off shotgun, with an attached rotating dust chamber containing fire, ice, gravity, lightning, earth and air dust. Coming off the shotgun is a slightly curved black blade, with a few white stripes towards the base connecting the ranged with the melee portions of the weapon. It was a bit heavier than she expected it to be, but given time, she feels she could get used to it. Engraved near the handle was the name she had given it in the details when she designed it, ‘Facina Oris’.

Mura barely has time to adjust to the weapon before the Creep runs at her again and tries to bite her once more. She jumps back and avoids it, but notices the as it was closer, it began to glow brighter green.

“Merlot, what’s going on with this Grimm? What’s it doing?” Mura asks.

“This is one of my first creations with my modified Grimm experiments! Mutant Creeps explode, either when they get too close or when they take enough damage!” Merlot explains.

Mura throws him a pointed look. “Why would they explode when damaged?! That’s just dumb!” She growls and returns her attention back to the Grimm that’s circling back and running towards her. Now knowing that it will explode when close enough, she starts making it a point to keep a good distance between herself and the creature.

“Because these Grimm are smarter than most. They know that they will die either way, and so by exploding they make one final attempt at bringing you down with it.” Merlot says.

The Creep keeps charging towards Mura, but she manages to keep a good rhythm of striking it quickly once it’s close, and gaining back the safe distance before it has a chance to explode. If she can damage it enough to make it explode from afar, then she won’t take the hit also. “Real helpful…” She mutters.

She sprints towards the Grimm, holding Facina Oris tight. She springs up and strikes the creature on it’s head, close enough to land an effective hit, but also fast enough so that it doesn’t have enough time to charge it’s explode.

Once she’s passed it, she turns and starts shooting at it. Plain bullets don’t seem to do much damage on their own. “Remember that your new weapon is fully equipped with dust. Use it to your benefit!” Merlot tips.

Mura nods and flips the dust chamber to the light blue ice dust. She aims it straight at the creature’s feet and fires a few ice-infused bullets, freezing the monster in place. She then flips the chamber again, this time landing on the purple gravity dust. The blade begins to glow purple in some of the creases.

She turns, jumps and pushes herself off the nearest wall to add momentum to her strike and she slices the blade in a vertical motion, sending a purple ray of gravity dust directly at the Grimm. The ice below it’s feet shatters and it is sent flying back as it disintegrates into thin air.

Mura, slightly out of breath, stands victorious at her first time ever killing a Grimm. Or really anything. “That was my test? That was easy!” She holds Facina Oris out in front of her and waves it around a little, now liking the slight weight to it, admiring the strength it gives her arm and overall the look of the weapon. Her very own weapon.

Before she can savor her victory, the center of the room starts glowing bright green. She lowers the weapon and stands watching for whatever comes next.

“You’re not done yet!” Merlot parades.

The creature that emerges from thin air is something that sends shivers down her spine. She had read stories, seen pictures in books, but she had never once seen an actual Deathstalker in person. Especially not one like _that_. Like the Creep, it’s glowing green, and greatly mutated. The giant beast takes up a large amount of the room’s center, leaving Mura with only the edges of the grounds to fight and maneuver her way around. 

She stares wide-eyed at the monster. “Son of a…” 

The Deathstalker’s tail flies straight at her, and she just barely manages to dodge out of the way as it makes contact with the ground, shattering the stone surface where she was just standing.

“Merlot! Do you really expect me to fight this thing! Are you _crazy_?!” She panics and feels her hand shaking around her weapon.

“You are strong enough! Prove to me that you can survive!” Merlot orders, his voice filling the room more than the Grimm.

Mura shakes her head rapidly. “No I’m not! Before today, I had never even _seen_ a Grimm in person, let alone fought one the size of my house! The only fight experience I had was hitting my friend with a stick in the woods until I knew what _not_ to do!” She cries out.

Merlot suddenly smiles and leans back, crossing his hands together in front of him, propping his arms up on his desk.

“Really now?” His smile widens and forms into a smirk. “You don’t want to let _Kiro_ down, do you, _Mura_?” He says in a patronizing tone that leaves Mura seething.

She feels the anger swell up inside of her. She doesn’t often get truly angry, not to this extent. The way this anger feels, is something scary. It’s not just anger, it’s the need to cause harm to another living creature. It’s a lust for blood.

“How… Do you know… About Kiro…” She can’t even bring herself to raise her voice with the overwhelming severity of her fuming rage. She tries taking deep breathes in between each of her words. 

Merlot’s smirk grows and he leans forward towards the screen, positing is himself to lean his weight into his elbows on his desk. “Make me.”

Her anger grows so much she feels numb, her vision blurs and no thoughts are coherent in her mind. She just needs to kill something. That’s the only possible thing that could calm her down at this point.

Her blurring vision turns red, a rim of black around the corners of her eyes. She looks down to see dark red, almost black veins pulse through her arms, and her skin whitens. She feels as though she has been forced to lose all control over her body or her actions. She can no longer think clearly, She fully takes leave of her senses. She could only watch, and hear Merlot’s infuriatingly patronizing voice.

“Good job…” He leans back once again and settles in his chair. “Lusus Naturae…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally I get one out actually on Saturday. 
> 
> Mika and Rozu meet Noto, Merlot’s experiment is semi revealed, and Mura now has her weapon. Yay, story progression.
> 
> Penultimate chapter 11 on the 26th.
> 
> :)


	11. Silver Lining

“So, Noto. Why didn’t you go to Atlas Academy? Why go all the way to Haven?” Mika asks curiously, keeping an eye on Rozu as they await an answer.

Noto lowers her head, averting her gaze from the two. In that moment, she almost said the truth, she felt the tears begin fighting their way to her eyes, but she manages to fight them and pull her thoughts together. 

(I can’t tell them what I’ve done. If they are going to be my friends, I want the chance to start over. I need to leave all thoughts of Atlas and what happened behind.)

She forces a smile again. “I… Um… I just wanted a change of scenery is all. I mean, you can only look at snow for so long before it’s boring.” She laughs nervously and rubs the back of her head.

Mika smiles and nods. “Same with sand.” She chuckles and turns to Rozu. “Hey, does the map show how much farther?” She asks. 

Studying the map, Rozu grumbles. “We should arrive in Mistral within just a few days. Assuming we don’t make anymore stops…” He replies.

Mika beams. “Oh, I’m so excited to go to Haven! I hope we all end up on a team together! That would be amazing!” She side hugs them both.

Rozu looks away and keeps his eyes on the map as he nudges her off and frees himself from her grasp. “Right…” He mumbles.

Noto looks sideways at Rozu. “What’s up with him...?” She asks Mika as she is also freed from the hug.

Mika sighs. “Don’t mind him. He’s just…” She studies him. “He doesn’t like people much.”

“Hey!” Rozu lowers the map and glares at her. Mika throws her arms up. “Well it’s true!” She crosses her arms as she lowers them again.

“Hmph!” Rozu raises the map once again and sharply turns his head away from both girls.

Noto just laughs and shakes her head. “You two are like a bickering old married couple…” She snickers.

Mika says nothing, just blushes. Rozu keeps his eyes on the map.

Mika clears her throat. “So… What are you most looking forward to once we get to Haven?” She asks quickly. Noto thinks about it.

“Well, of course I’m hoping to get stronger. But mainly my goal is to learn how to control my… Semblance…” Noto trails off as she realizes she was hoping to not bring up her semblance.

“What is your semblance?” Mika asks. 

Noto silently curses herself and looks down. “Um… I uh…” She takes a deep breath. “I can never miss hitting what I think about…” She says quietly.

Mika gushes. “Really? That’s so cool! Way better than mine!” She says.

Now Noto clears her throat. “What is yours?” She asks.

“I can control electric devices. Hold up your scroll.” She says. Noto does so.

Mika stares at the device and it turns on, unlocks, somehow ignoring the passcode, and starts playing a bubbly cheerful song through the speaker. Noto shuts the sound and the device off and puts the scroll away, staring at Mika with astonishment.

“Nope. Your’s is _way_ cooler.” She smiles. Mika smiles back.

Noto then motions to Rozu. “What about him? What’s his semblance?” She asks Mika. 

Mika claps. “Oh! His semblance is really cool! Show her, Rozu!” She nudges his arm.

Rozu frowns. “No.” He deadpans. “If you two are done talking and probably attracting _every_ creature in a hundred foot radius, the sun’s going down. We should set up camp.” Rozu folds up the map and stuffs it away in his bag.

Mika frowns playfully. “Ok fine, Mr. Grumpypants.” She pouts and glares at him. He ignores her and starts dropping his things to start making camp.

“Yeah yeah, I’m the worst. Now can one of you help me with the fire?” He asks.

Mika sighs. “Yes, Rozu…” She rolls her eyes and rushes to join him at his side.

Noto watches them and smiles. “Ah, young love.”

________________________

Mura struggles to breathe. The thoughts in her mind no longer feel like her own. What consciousness she has left is shoved to the back of her mind and she is simply forced to watch through a piece of red film.

She watches as her body lifts Facina Oris and sprints for the Deathstalker head-on.

In a swift motion, she leaps off the ground just as the stinger flies to impale her where she stands. She grabs onto the stinger as it lifts back up into the air and she strikes repeatedly at the point where the tail connects to the yellow stinger.

The mutant shakes it’s tail and throws her back, but not before she does a considerable amount of damage to it. 

She flies back and hits the wall, and the force of the impact leaves her staggered. She’s used to her aura taking the blunt of the damage, but it seems that whatever that serum is doing to her leaves her without her protective shield to take her hits.

(What am I…? Am I a… A _Grimm_ …?)

The thought sends a feeling to her heart, but she is unable to provide any reaction to her emotions. What should have been fear was simply replaced with rage.

She feels herself smile, but the action is not her own. _”No. We are something much more. We are stronger.”_

The words come from her mouth, but they are not her own. The creature within speaks with her voice, listening to her thoughts like a parasite.

(…what are you…?)

Her body turns to the Deathstalker again and her smile widens. The beast screeches and throws up it’s tail.

She runs at it again, stepping to the side of the Grimm as it turns, and she strikes it’s side, making it howl in pain. 

It makes an attempt at clawing at her again, but with the damage she had previously done to it’s tail, she manages to slice the stinger off in one clean motion. The severed appendage disintegrates into nothing, but the mutant keeps fighting.

With it’s stub of a tail, it swipes down at Mura and knocks her back again, causing her a great amount of pain.

It takes every remaining amount of control Mura has to fight the serum. She tries blocking out the rage, tries forming clear thoughts, anything to calm her down, but her goal seems unreachable at the moment.

 _”There is no_ you _or_ me _anymore, Murasaki. There is only_ us _. And we are as Merlot had said. A freak of nature. Lusus Naturae.”_ The monster says with her mouth.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Merlot looking complacent on the screens, watching her with contentment. 

(Why is he doing this…? What kind of sick monster would do this?) Her thoughts fight to become more clear, her attention focused on him. 

_”Because he is selfish. He is weak. He deserves to die, don’t you think? For putting us through this torture.”_ Her voice says. 

Mura tries to shout out, but she still lacks control over her own mouth. (No! I don’t want to kill anyone! No one deserves to die!) Her thoughts plead. 

She feels her smile widen. The Deathstalker starts running towards her, and she slices a vertical ray of gravity dust at it, pushing it back and causing it a good bit of damage, resulting in another screech. 

_”Not even Aka? After what she did to you, death would be a kinder fate than what she truly deserves.”_

With that thought, Mura manages to clear some fraction of her mind. One single thought is formed in her head. The one thing she can think of to calm her rage. 

(Day always comes after night…) 

The redness of her vision starts to fade, but it doesn’t completely go away. She still is lacking control as her body starts running around the edge of the room in a circle, firing pot shots at the Deathstalker before it has the time to turn at her pace. It screeches and rears up, slamming it’s body into the ground and shaking the entire room. She is knocked slightly off balance, but she isn’t knocked down. 

The Deathstalker then lurches back and dips downward, burrowing itself into the ground. Mura’s body stops running and waits for it to emerge. She keeps her eyes trained on the burrowing path left behind, showing it’s trail. 

Mura takes the moment to try focusing again. (Day always comes after night.) She mentally takes a deep breath, if that’s even possible. 

She can’t control the growl that escapes her lips. _”Shut up!”_ She barks. 

(Day always comes after night.) She keeps repeating the thought. She feels more and more rage leave her heart, replaced only with calming stillness amongst the chaos swirling around her mind and body. 

The red fades more, nearly gone. Mura feels herself gain some control again, she is able to move her arm holding her weapon with enough effort. She is once again able to speak her own words. 

“Merlot! Make it stop! Please!” She cries out, her voice strained. 

_(He deserves to die!)_ The voice is now shoved to her mind, clouding her thoughts. 

Merlot frowns from the monitor. “You should not be able to fight it…” He mumbles and writes something down in his notebook. “I’ll have to correct that for future tests.” He says. 

The Deathstalker breaks out of the ground and spins towards Mura, screeching again and charging towards her. 

“Are you even listening to me?! I said make it _stop!_ ” She demands. She has to take a deep breath to fight the rage that starts reforming. 

The mutant swipes it’s tail at her again, and she isn’t able to react before it slams into her and knocks her back into the wall again. It didn’t hurt as much this time, it seems her aura has returned. 

“Sorry, Murasaki. But I cannot stop it, even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. This is proving more interesting than I thought it would be. It seems that the serum is capable of forming it’s own thoughts within the host. Or perhaps it simply alters your mind to make you think that way and say what it wants… How intriguing…” He takes more notes. 

His complacent tone almost sends her over the edge again, nearly making her give in to the rage. She manages to calm her mind with those five words again. 

“Day always comes after night…” She whispers and takes yet another deep breath. 

Merlot lowers his notebook and stares at her. “What was that? ‘Day always comes after night’? Hm…” He taps his chin and smirks. “ _Kiro_ told you that, didn’t he?” He says. 

Mura growls and fights her own mind. 

_(He won’t shut up unless you make him. Are you really going to let him talk about Kiro? Kill him. He deserves it. Kill him. **Do it.** ) _

Mura shakes her head and shuts her eyes tight. “Shut up!” She barks. She whips up Facina Oris and shoots at one of the screens, shattering it and powering it down. She then turns and shoots the rest, fighting the voice in her head. 

The big metal door slides open and Merlot stands in the entrance with his arms crossed. His expression hasn’t changed from when he was on the screen. 

“How do you think he would react, seeing you like this? All that rage, that lust for blood. How would he feel? More importantly, how would _you_ feel? You’re so inhumanly savage now, that in one moment, you could simply slaughter him like a dog. So you tell me, _Mura_. Do you really want to go back to him? Do you really want to _kill_ him?” Merlot speaks with an infuriating calmness. 

Mura feels something grow within her, but it’s not rage. The thought that’s now in her mind. Kiro. Dead. The words stir something inside of her, growing in her heart, sprouting up into her mind, and ultimately making it’s way to her eyes. 

The voice in her head is silent. Merlot simply whispers ‘no’ in a voice laced with an unfamiliar fear as Mura’s eyes go pure white and she screams. Her head throbs, until everything just stops, and only stillness surrounds her as her consciousness slips away. 

________________________

Rozu lays back with his eyes shut, ignoring the voice constantly telling him to get up. 

“Wake up, Rozu!” Mika shouts and pushes his side. 

He stubbornly keeps his eyes closed, refusing to let her win. He just rolls over and mumbles “No.” 

Mika lets out an exasperated sigh. “But Rozu! Noto’s making pancakes! You need to have breakfast before we hit the road again!” She exclaims. 

He suddenly sits up and opens his eyes, scanning them over the camp to see Noto over the campfire with a frying pan and a pancake in the center of it. “Almost ready!” She sings cheerfully. 

Rozu stares at her in disbelief. “Where did you get…? How are you…?” He’s too tired to finish any of his thoughts. 

Noto smiles at him. “I have my ways.” She says. 

Rozu rolls his eyes and flops back into his sleeping bag. “Whatever. I’m way too tired to be dealing with you two right now… I’m going back to bed.” He grumbles and pulls his blanket over his eyes. 

Noto whines. “Come on, Rozu! At least try one.” She says and pulls the pan away from the fire. She brings it over to their supplies and pulls out a paper plate and small butter and syrup packages. She brings it over to him and waves it around his face. 

Mika grins. “They’re really good, Zuzu…” She teases. 

He instantly sits up and glares at her. “Don’t call me that.” He frowns. His eyes hover over the plate and his stomach grumbles. “Ugh… Fine. But only because it smells really good…” He begrudgingly takes the plate. 

Mika pats his back. “That’s the spirit!” She giggles. 

After a few hours, they pack up and head back to the road, now being not terribly far from the city. 

Mika jogs up to Rozu’s side to look at the map with him. “So… How much farther?” She asks. 

He smiles and points to Mistral. “Maybe a few hours at this pace. I’m surprised, but we’re actually making great time.” He says, his tone more positive than usual. 

Mika looks sideways at him. “Rozu? Are you… Okay?” She asks slowly. 

He looks at her and raises a brow. “I’m fine, why?” He asks. 

Mika and Noto exchange a glance. “You just seem a little… _Happy_ for once.” Noto says carefully. 

“Hey! At least I’m trying! Since we’re almost at Haven, I just thought I should at least attempt to be more… _Positive_.” He draws out the last word as if trying to break it down into something easier for him to comprehend. 

Mika leans over to Noto and lowers her voice. “What did you put in those pancakes…?” She whispers. 

Before Noto can reply, a twig snaps behind them. 

All three of them turn around quickly and draw their weapons. After a few moments pass of nothing happening, Mika glances at Noto and slightly nods. 

Noto catches her meaning and hesitates before before slowly reaching back and drawing an arrow. She takes a deep breath and thinks about the best way to do this. 

(Focus, Noto…. Focus…) 

She takes another deep breath, ignoring Rozu and Mika behind her. 

(Unknown target, right leg.) 

She releases the arrow, but they don’t even see it fly. They hear a thud from behind a patch of bushes and a large rock. “Ow!” Comes a cry. 

“Oh no, it’s a person!” Noto gasps and puts her bow away. She rushes over to the rock and peaks behind it. She sees a Faunus girl, but her arrow hadn’t struck her, it was lying on the ground beside her. 

“Noto!” Rozu shouts as he sees the girl as well. 

Noto barely has time to react as the girl springs up and knocks her back. She jumps and lands squarely on the large rock, a proud smirk worn across her face. 

Rozu and Mika stand with their weapons ready, but Noto leaves hers on her back. “How did you avoid my semblance…? It should have hurt you…” She asks quietly. Fear and astonishment in her tone. 

Rozu runs up to her side and glares at the girl. “Who are you!?” He demands. 

She places a hand on her hip and leans into her side. Her smirk grows. “The name’s Aka Kirai.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurray, Aka’s back!
> 
> Oh yeah and Mura’s somewhat possessed by a demon Grimm serum. But mainly Aka!
> 
> Volume 1 finale on Saturday, October 3rd.
> 
> :)


	12. Rise And Fall

Mura opens her eyes to find herself in yet _another_ unknown location. It definitely wasn’t Menagerie, and there’s no way it’s Merlot’s lab like she was expecting. She’s in a wooden room, lying in a queen sized bed with dark blue pillows and blankets. Across from the bed is a window, showing the tree line of tall pine trees and a bright blue sky. Across the room from her is a sliding wicker closet door next to the door that probably leads to the rest of the house.

Her head is pounding, and her whole body hurts. But strangely, the one thing that doesn’t hurt is her stab wound from Kua all those nights ago. 

Her hand hovers over the puffy scar tissue left behind from the injury.

Before she can ponder too much on everything that’s happened, there’s a soft, but somewhat firm knock on the door.

Mura’s too shaken up and numb to jump at the sudden sound, so she just slowly turns her head towards the door. 

“…Yes?” Her voice trembles.

The door opens to reveal a girl who looks only a few years older than Mura. She has dark blue hair and eyes. She is wearing a long grey coat that hangs down to her ankles. She has black pants and a dark blue shirt under her coat. She is also wearing black gloves with fishnet sleeves. She has a grey pistol with blue accents on her waist, fastened to her belt.

She’s smiling when she walks in and gently shuts the door behind her. Her features are soft, but the way she seems to carry herself makes Mura think she is much more confident in her stride.

“You’re awake, good. I was worried you were in a coma or something.” She says, her voice carries strength, but she lowers it to speak more softly.

Mura just sits and watches as she walks over to the closet and pulls out some clothes. “Just by your hair, I’m going to assume you like purple.” She chuckles lightly and brings the clothes over, setting them at the foot of the bed. “What’s your name?” She asks.

Mura clears her throat and tries to calm her mind. “M… Murasaki… But you can just call me Mura…” She says slowly, adjusting to hearing her own voice again.

“So I was right to assume the purple thing. Nice. You have a very pretty name.” She says warmly.

Mura manages a small smile and looks down. “T… Thank you.” She says and looks back up at her. “How about you?” She asks, slowly beginning to find her confidence again.

“Raine Teilt. Good to meet ya, Mura.” She holds out her hand.

Mura hesitates for a second, but reaches up and accepts the firm handshake from Raine.

Raine lowers her hand and steps back. “I’m sure you have a lot of questions. Trust me, I do too. Just get dressed and come downstairs when you’re ready. I’ll be making tuna salads.” She winks and walks back over to the door. 

She places her hand on the knob and turns it, pulling the door open slightly. “I can tell you’re scared. Just know that you are safe here. I even left your weapon with you. I’m a huntress, kinda... I won’t hurt you. I promise.” She says kindly with a smile.

Mura nods slowly. “Thank you…” She says again quietly.

Raine nods back and leaves the room, shutting the door behind her.

Mura gets up and puts on the clothes. It’s a pair of black stockings that have the shape of cats on the knees and purple on her thighs. Over them she wears a pair of dark grey shorts and a purple belt, with a black sash tied at her side that hangs down to her ankles. She put on a white tank top and a black crop top over it, tied behind her neck. She then puts on a pair of black ankle-height heels with purple stripes along the sides.

The clothes all fit her well, much to her surprise seeing as Raine is taller and bigger than Mura is, and definitely more, um, _top heavy_. Maybe the clothes are from when she was younger, or maybe they belong to someone else.

She finds Facina Oris leaned against the wall in the corner and she clips it to her back. Satisfied with her look, she exits the room and heads downstairs to the kitchen to find Raine at the counter with bowls and cans of tuna.

Mura stays quiet and just watches her.

Raine notices her and smiles, rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah, so, I just found out that I have absolutely no idea how to make tuna salads, so instead I just grabbed the tuna and some orange juice. Hope that’s ok.” She says with a carefree grin.

Mura nods quickly and walks into the kitchen with her. “That’s fine.” She says in a small voice.

Raine turns to her. “Pfft! Come on, looking as cool as you do right now, you don’t have to be so shy! Loosen up, girl!” She pats Mura on her back and empties the tuna cans into two bowls, handing one to her. 

Mura slowly takes the bowl in one hand and takes a glass of orange juice in the other as Raine hands it to her.

“Come on, let’s sit down and talk. I’m really curious about whatever happened to you.” Raine says and leaves the kitchen, walking out into the living room and flopping down on the dark blue couch with her legs crossed.

Mura follows her and sits down carefully beside her, but she considers what Raine said about loosening up, so she crosses one leg under her and leans back into the couch cushions.

“So Raine… You said you’re a huntress?” Mura says and takes a bite of tuna. The taste instantly makes her relax more. Nothing is better than a bowl of straight tuna.

Raine shrugs. “Kind of… I just graduated from Sanctum Academy, and pretty soon here I’m going to be heading to Haven. I would have my glaive with me, but I didn’t want to scare you.” She smiles and takes a bite as well.

Mura stares at the tuna and then her. “How did you know I like tuna?” She asks.

Raine smiles and points to the top of her head.

Mura looks up and then laughs nervously, lowering her cat ears. “Oh… Right.” She says.

Raine nods and takes another bite. “My twin brother is a Faunus too, so I know quite a bit about them. He also graduated from Sanctum not long ago and is going to Haven with me.” She explains.

Mura looks around the house. “Where is he?” She asks.

“Oh, he doesn’t live here. He lives in Menagerie with my mom, River, while I’m out here with my dad, Ozean.” Raine says and takes a drink.

“What’s your brothers name?” Mura asks and starts taking a drink as well.

Raine sets down her glass. “Nave Teilt.” She answers.

Mura has to set down her cup and throw her hand over her mouth as she begins to cough and choke on orange juice. Raine stares at her quizzically.

After a moment to regain her composure, she looks Raine over. “Wait a minute… _You_ are Nave’s twin sister!?” She sets down her bowl as well.

Raine nods and very slowly takes a bite of tuna. “Yes…? Why? You know him?” She asks. Mura nods frantically.

“He was a jerk to me!” She crosses her arms.

Raine sighs. “Yeah… Sorry about that. He’s always been… _Spirited_. He’s really just a big softie, but he’ll never let anyone see it.” She says sheepishly.

Mura grumbles and takes another drink of orange juice.

“So… You’re from Menagerie, then? Is that how you know him?” Raine asks. Mura nods.

“Yeah I… I am…” She stares down at the coffee table. “Where are we?” She asks.

Raine nods. “Now we’re getting into things... We’re in Mistral. Well, outside of the city anyway. Do you not know how you got here?” She asks.

Mura thinks about it and shakes her head. “No… Not really.” She says. 

Raine cocks a brow. “What do you mean ‘not really’?” She asks. 

Mura sighs and studies Raine. She seems trustworthy, but given everything that’s happened, maybe it would be best to keep certain details out. 

“I was kidnapped some time ago, I’m actually not sure how long it’s been. I was kept at a lab for a while and something happened that made me… Made me… Actually I… I don’t know what it made me do. I just kinda… Fainted? And then I woke up here.” She explains vaguely. 

Raine reels back a bit and stares at her in confusion and amazement. “Wow… That sounds… Crazy.” She says.

Mura chuckles. “Yeah… It really was. But how did I get,” she motions around Raine’s house, “here?”

Raine takes a few bites of tuna and washes it down with juice before answering. “I was away with my dad in Higanbana for a few days, and he sent me home ahead of him while he finishes up there. On my way back, I found you unconscious on the side of the road with nothing to explain how you got there. This area is teeming with Grimm, so I decided to take you with me instead of leaving you to be Beowulf food.” She explains.

Mura finishes her bowl and sets it down, then taking a long drink of orange juice, emptying the glass. “How did I end up along the road?” She asks, not really to Raine, but just to put the question out there.

Raine shrugs. “Beats me. You said you fainted, so maybe someone at the lab you mentioned got you out of there? Do you know of anyone who would?” She asks.

Mura considers all the people she knows were there. It definitely wasn’t Merlot. He seemed pretty determined to keep her there, so there’s no way he’d just let her out. Then there’s Kua and Sakura. Mura has never really met Sakura aside from the kidnapping thing. But just from that she thinks she can safely rule her out. 

And then there’s Kua. Mura knows absolutely nothing about her aspirations or morals, and from what she’s heard, neither does Kiro. All she knows is that Kua left Kiro the day his father died, and then stabbed her for trying to help Aka. 

Mura sighs and shakes her head in defeat. “No… I have no idea who it could have been…” She says and leans back into the couch.

Now Raine finishes her bowl as well. “Well, whoever it was must’ve cared about you a lot. Either that or they hated you which is why you were left along the road. Who knows.” She stretches back.

“Yeah…” Mura looks at her. “So what do I do now?” She asks sadly. 

Raine empties her glass of orange juice and picks up all their dishes, standing from the couch and carrying them to the kitchen. Mura stays sitting. 

“Well, you can try getting back home to Menagerie if you want. You got family there?” Raine asks as she places the cups and bowls in the sink and stands in the doorway to the kitchen, leaning against the wall.

Mura looks down. “Um… Yeah. Kind of…” She says slowly. Raine smiles. “I won’t ask.” She says.

Mura shakes her head and remembers what Merlot had said. That she might hurt or even kill Kiro because of the serum. She’s a monster now. As he said, inhuman. She cannot risk that. She can’t go back to him, not while she knows absolutely nothing about what’s coursing through her veins.

“I can’t go back… Not yet at least.” She says wistfully and her ears fold back.

Raine frowns sadly and thinks. “Again, won’t ask. Whatever personal business you’ve got going on is on you. I won’t force you to tell me. But if you don’t want to go back, why not apply to Haven with me? I saw your weapon, so you must be able to fight. And if your good enough they might overlook the fact that you’re a _bit_ younger. Unless you’d rather go to Sanctum.” She says.

Mura’s ears perk up and she looks to Raine. “That’s it! Haven! I’d rather go there than Sanctum, at least then I’d know you and wouldn’t be alone.” She jumps up from her seat.

Raine nods with a smile. “Alright then. Testing to get in doesn’t start for a few more days, so you can stay here with me for now. Then we can head there together and, well, I guess we’ll see what happens from there.” She says.

Mura smiles back. “Haven it is then.”

______________________

“The name’s Aka Kirai.” Aka says with a smirk.

Rozu growls and tightens his grip on his blades. “Who are you, and what do you want?” He demands.

Aka throws him an annoyed glare. “Really? ‘Who am I?’ Were you not just listening to me? I’m _Aka_. A.K.A.” She says her name slowly and spells it out as if she’s lecturing a dim child.

Rozu’s glare deepens and he snarls. “What do you want?” He spats.

Aka rolls her eyes. “Have I done something wrong? What’s with all the hostility?” She holds up her hands innocently.

Noto steps forward. “You were following us, weren’t you? Why?” She glares at her.

Aka’s tail sways behind her as she glares back. “Oh, because I’m such a huge fan! I simply _had_ to get your autograph, sweetie!” She states sarcastically with exaggerated enthusiasm. Noto frowns.

Rozu’s frown grows and his patience nearly dries up. “Answer the damn question. Why were you following us?” His voice demanding.

Aka huffs. “Fine. I was hoping to, um… _See_ your map.” She jumps down from the rock.

Mika tilts her head. “You wanted to steal it?” She asks innocently.

Aka claps patronizingly. “Great job, sunshine. You figured it out. Want a pat on the back?” She hisses.

Rozu steps in front of Mika. “Insult her again and I won’t hesitate to hurt you.” He scowls. 

Noto sighs. “Why do you want our map? Where are you trying to go?” She asks slowly and carefully.

Aka snickers. “Atlas. I’m sure I’ll be more than welcome there!” She snides and instantly returns to her frown, her tail flicks in annoyance.

Noto growls and rolls her eyes in frustration, but also some kind of satisfaction. She has always held an appreciation for dedicated sarcasm.

After she’s met with no response, Aka sighs. “Look, I just need to get to Mistral. Now hand it over!” She orders.

Rozu steps forward again and shakes his head. “No.” His voice monotone.

Mika rushes to stand between all of them and holds her hands up peacefully. “Ok, everyone just calm down. All this negativity is bound to attract some Grimm. So maybe we can come to some form of arrangement.” She turns to Aka. “Do you have a scroll?” She asks calmly.

Aka simply nods and provides no snarky remark this time.

Mika then turns to Rozu. “Ok Rozu,” she holds out her hand, “give me the map.” She says.

Rozu looks at her with a look of apprehension. “What? Why?” He asks defensively.

Mika sighs. “Let her take a picture of the map so she can be on her way, and so we can do the same.” She reasons.

Rozu throws Aka a distrustful glance. “But what if she’s going to Mistral to break the law or something? Or what if she’s White Fang? We shouldn’t get ourselves involved in that.” He crosses his arms. 

Mika glares at him. “It doesn’t matter what she’s going for. It’s none of our concern. Rozu, just calm down and give me the map.” She remains peaceful and calm as she keeps her hand outstretched, patiently awaiting the map.

Rozu stares at her hand for a moment before begrudgingly handing the map over and turning away. “I hope you know what you’re doing…” He mutters, his previous ‘good mood’ has completely vanished.

“Thank you.” Mika says simply and turns back to Aka.

She holds up the map and Aka lifts her scroll to take the picture. She then snaps her scroll shut and stuffs it away in her pocket. “Thank you, voice of reason. I’ll never forget your act of kindness.” She says. Mika and Noto can’t tell if that was sarcasm or not, and Rozu simply doesn’t care.

Aka then turns to Noto. “And thanks to you too, Noto. For not shooting me.” She smiles. For a moment, Noto could have almost sworn the smile was genuine, but it’s utterly hard to tell.

Noto shakes her head slowly. “But how did I—“

“Anyways, I should really get going. I’ve got places to be.” She spins around and throws Noto a wink before taking off into the forest, completely vanishing from sight.

Once she’s gone, Rozu turns to Mika. “Why do I get the feeling you just doomed us all?” He deadpans.

Mika throws her arms up in defense. “Hey, I simply helped someone find their way. Don’t blame me for your own paranoia.” She says. 

“I’m not paranoid! She was going to rob us!” Rozu barks.

Mika sighs. “Whatever the case, she’s gone. Let’s just hope we don’t run into her again.” She says.

Rozu and Mika turn to leave, but Rozu stops once he notices that Noto isn’t following. “Noto? Come on, we need to keep moving.” He says.

Noto slowly turns back to them and nods, but provides no response. Her mind is elsewhere.

“Noto?” Mika says. “You okay?” She asks as the three start walking again. 

Noto looks up at her and nods. “Yeah... I...” She glances back in the direction Aka left. “...I’m fine.” She says quietly.

_______________________

After a few days of staying at Raine’s house, the two headed for Haven Academy. Raine really doesn’t live far from the city, so the walk only took a few hours.

Once there, they made their way to the main building, where a bunch of other students are gathered for the welcome ceremony. 

The only way Mura was even allowed in the Academy was because she may have lied just a bit on her transcript and said that she attended Signal Academy, and for some reason Raine knew how to forge the documents to seem legitimate. Mura decided it best not to ask questions.

Raine and Mura sit together in the crowd, and they can barely hear over the commotion of the room of people talking. 

After a few minutes of waiting for everyone to get settled, the headmaster walks onto the stage with a microphone and the room falls silent.

The headmaster is an older man with grey hair and a bushy beard. He is wearing mostly brown formal attire, and a long vest that hangs passed his knees. He seems kind of timid, but given his standing as the headmaster, his presence still carries power and demands respect.

Mura stares up at him with apprehension, but also excitement. She always wanted to go to a huntsmen academy, but she never imagined she would actually be _here_. At _Haven Academy_.

The headmaster clears his throat and holds the mic up to his face. “Thank you all so much for coming. I am… Happy. Happy to see so many young people who are determined to take action in making the world a… A better place.” Something about his demeanor seems nervous for some reason. He speaks with what sounds like hesitation. It’s like he’s choosing his words very carefully.

He clears his throat again. “My name is Professor Lionheart…” His eyes dart around the room for a moment. “Now… Unless there are any questions. I feel we are ready to begin the testing.” He says.

Raine raises her hand to ask a question, but Lionheart ignores her. “Alright then, everyone, please exit to your right and down the hall you will find lines leading to the exam rooms. Simply wait until your name is called to enter.” Lionheart finishes and leaves the room, almost in a hurry.

Mura tilts her head. “Well that was brief...” She says.

Raine puts her hand down and frowns in annoyance as they stand up. “Dude. Not cool.” She deadpans. The two begin walking.

Mura leans closer so Raine can hear her over the commotion rising again. “What were you going to ask?” She asks.

Raine shifts uncomfortably. “I was just gonna ask where the bathrooms are…” She says begrudgingly.

Mura laughs, and they both proceed into the next room.

They have been waiting in line outside the exam room for almost two hours now. Both of them are exhausted and impatiently awaiting their turns.

“Raine Teilt!” A woman’s voice calls from the room. Raine immediately jumps up and stretches her arms. “Looks like I’m up! Wish me luck!” She smiles and rushes into the room.

Mura smiles after her, and shifts her attention to the clock. She stares at it for a moment, just watching the longest hand tick slowly with each passing second. She then turns her head and looks out the window. All that’s there is a view of some trees in the courtyard and the sky, which is still bright blue.

She sighs and looks back to the clock to see that only a minute has passed and she yawns. She slowly shuts her eyes and lays back in her chair, accidentally dozing off.

She doesn’t dream, but rather she hears a voice. The haunting voice from the lab.

 _”What are we doing here? We don’t belong here. We are not a huntress. We are a freak. We are a monster.”_ The voice says.

Mura tries ignoring it, but it stays.

_”We are stronger than them. Just give in, Murasaki. Give in to our rage. We will be unstoppable once we reach our full potential.”_

Mura shakes her head. “Just shut up… I’m not you. You are just a serum, you’re not real.”

She doesn’t hear the voice again, just a haunting chuckle. And then nothing.

“Murasaki!” The woman’s voice calls from inside the room. 

She’s shaken awake by Raine. “Hey! You’re up, sleepyhead!” She says with a smile and pulls Mura to her feet. 

Mura looks around and then at the clock. She had only been asleep for a half hour. “R… Right. Sorry.” She says quietly. 

“Hey. Remember what I said about loosening up. You look too cool to be shy!” Raine nudges her arm playfully.

Mura nods. “Right. Ok. I can do this!” She throws on a determined smile.

Raine nods as well and pushes her towards the room. “Good luck!” She calls after her.

Mura walks into the room with slight apprehension. There are a few tables set up on each side of the room, each with a professor sitting behind it with a scroll.

A woman with kind green eyes and silver hair waves her over and she approaches the table.

“Alright, Murasaki. My name is Professor Shirodu and I will be helping you get through testing today. But before we begin, I’m going to need your last name. It wasn’t provided on your transcript, hence why we called you last.” Professor Shirodu says.

Mura pauses before answering.

(I don’t want anything possibly connecting me back to my family in Menagerie. I need to make a name for myself, and if the professors here are able to trace me back to there, they’ll probably be able to find out that I never went to Signal. I need to think of something, fast.)

“Um… My name is Murasaki…” She feels the weight of Facina Oris on her back and goes with the first thing that comes to mind. “Oris. Murasaki Oris.” She smiles nervously.

Shirodu nods and types something into her scroll. “Ok, Ms. Oris. First question: What is your primary reason for wanting to attend this academy and join the ranks of huntsmen and huntresses all over the world?” She asks slowly.

Mura stops to think about it and nods to herself when she quickly finds her answer. “Growing up, I always read stories about huntsmen and huntresses, and I dreamed about being one someday. Where I’m from, there was a lot of bad things happening all the time, and I want to be the one who’s able to stop it. And after I… _Lost_ my parents, I knew what I needed to do.” She says.

Shirodu nods slowly and gives Mura a sympathetic look. “I am so sorry about your parents, Murasaki.” She says softly and clears her throat. She types in her scroll.

“Alright. Question two, and this is an easier one: Have you discovered your semblance, and if so, what is it?” Shirodu asks.

Mura shakes her head. “No. I haven’t. But hopefully I will find it by improving my skills here.” She says.

The professor nods and types up her answer. “Ok… Final question, and please be honest and think carefully about this one: What is your biggest goal that you wish to strive for, not just as a huntress, but as a person?” Shirodu asks.

Mura doesn’t even take time to try finding her answer, she just starts talking. “I want to be a hero. When I look around and see people who are hurting… Who have lost so much… I can only imagine that they feel alone, and like things won’t get better. But I want to be the one to give them hope again. To show them that they don’t have to be alone. Those people who are lost in night, just need someone there to make things seem a little brighter. And I want to be that light of hope for them. I want to show them that day… Day always comes after night.” She finishes with a smile and fights back tears after saying those five words.

She stares at Shirodu, who seems a bit taken aback by her response. She slowly looks down at her scroll and types something quickly.

“Um… How old did you say you were?” Shirodu clears her throat and studies her.

Mura’s smile doesn’t falter. “Fifteen.” She states, almost too proudly.

Shirodu nods and types one last thing before standing up and nodding. “Well… Alright then, Ms. Oris. You um… You may now follow me and we will begin the combat testing. Right this way.” She says and exits the room, down another hallway. 

Mura nods to herself and follows excitedly.

“Ok, Murasaki. All you have to do is take down each of the targets as they are presented. As you progress, you will find that they will become more challenging, so be ready. Got it?” Professor Shirodu says from the front row of seats, where a few other professors sit watching, and judging her every move.

Mura takes a deep breath and nods. She holds on tightly to Facina Oris.

“Just say when you are ready to begin.” Shirodu says.

Mura closes her eyes and takes another deep breath. She hears whispers speaking in her mind, but they are hushed, and too quiet to decipher. She does all she can to silence them and focus on what’s in front of her. 

“Ready.” She says.

The room falls dark for a moment, then a spotlight shines down on her from above. She fights to keep a level head and ignore the people watching her.

A door at the opposite end of the stage from her slides open, and an android steps out and prepares to attack. It is glowing. With bright blue lights accenting the grey metal of it’s structure. 

It charges at her head on, and she dodges out of the way before it reaches her. It turns back and faces her again, and she watches it closely.

Now, it runs at her in a zigzag pattern, dodging each of her bullets.

It reaches her and strikes her with one of it’s arm blades, knocking her back a bit. 

When it hit her, a cold feeling passed over her skin, and a small amount of ice was left behind from the impact. She stares at the android and notes the light blue accents again. 

(It’s infused with ice dust… I wonder what fire would do to it.)

Mura flips her dust chamber to the red fire dust and fires at it. The bullet hits, and the blue glow fades a bit where it took the impact.

The android sprints for her again, and as it reaches her, she grabs it’s arm, kicks into it’s leg and knocks it off balance. She slams it into the ground and lifts Facina Oris up, and in one motion, brings the blade down through it’s core.

All the blue lights fade out and the android stops moving.

She smiles and releases the robot. “Easy.” She says proudly.

Shirodu and the other professors nod. “Well done, Ms. Oris.” Shirodu praises.

Mura has gone down the line of progressively more difficult androids, each infused with different types of dust. Luckily for her, Facina Oris has more than enough dust to counter them.

Now it’s the final test. After all the other things she’s fought today, she feels like she can take on anything.

Well, she _felt_ that way, until she sees that the final test is against an Atlesian Paladin.

(Oh no…)

Not wasting any time, the Paladin runs at her, punching her and throwing her back into the far wall. 

She grunts and tries regaining her composure before it strikes for her again.

Mura manages to roll out of the way as it’s fist punches a hole in the wall where she had just been standing.

As it pulls it’s fist from the wall, she notices the red glow from beneath it’s heavy metal plating. It’s infused with fire dust.

(The metal will make it hard to reach the dust core…)

She considers using the same tactic from the other tests leading up to this one, using the opposing dust. But since this is the final test, why not end it with a ‘bang’?

She flips Facina Oris’ dust chamber to air dust and it coats the blade.

The Paladin turns and charges for her again, and as it rears back to slam it’s fist down on her, she flips back gracefully just as it’s fist falls, crushing the ground. She fires a bullet at the floor beneath her which launches her forward, towards the robot.

She grabs hold of it’s front plating and stabs her blade through the center. She fires multiple bullets into the metal plate until there is a descent sized hole in the center, showing through to the red core.

The Paladin grabs her and throws her back, but she lands with catlike grace on her feet and raises her gun. Staring down the barrel, she aims the shot straight at the hole she made.

Once the Paladin gets close enough for her shotgun to hit it, she pulls the trigger, and a bullet of air dust flies straight into the hole it it’s chest, causing the entire thing to explode.

Mura jumps out of the way of the explosion and lands in the center of the stage with a dramatic pose as the dust and debris clear away behind her.

The professors all take a moment to admire what they had just watched. Professor Shirodu is the first to clap, then the others follow.

Mura stands up tall with a smile.

“Excellent! Ms. Oris, you may now head back to the auditorium and wait there for Headmaster Lionheart to give everyone their results.“ Professor Shirodu says.

Mura nods and exits the room in a hurry, eager to see Raine and get their results.

“So, do you think ya got in?” Raine asks as Mura takes a seat beside her.

Mura shrugs. “I’m not sure. I think I did pretty well, but I guess we’ll find out soon.” She smiles.

Headmaster Lionheart walks onto the stage and the room falls silent once again. He is still holding a mic, but this time he also has a scroll pad. He presses a button on the scroll and two large screens with the kingdom’s lamp symbol open up on the wall behind him.

He clears his throat nervously again. “I am pleased to witness the incredible amount of talent and determination we have in the young men and women gathered here today.” He glances around at the crowd nervously. “And I am more than proud to be the first to announce the names of those men and women who will continue from this day forward as huntsmen and huntresses!” He says. The audience applauds.

Professor Lionheart has gone down a long list of names, and seems to be nearing the end.

(Please let me be on there…) Mura waits impatiently.

Neither she nor Raine has yet been called, and Lionheart doesn’t seem to be going in any particular order, and if she had to guess, it’s probably to build suspense. It’s definitely working.

A few more names go by. “Raine Teilt.” Lionheart announces. Her picture pops up on the screens.

Raine immediately shoots out of her seat and cheers at herself. “Yeah!!” She exclaims.

“Great job, Raine!” Mura claps with a wide smile.

Saying Raine just walked up onto the stage would be putting it lightly. She marched up there with a stride of gusto and radiating confidence.

Lionheart continues down the list. “Mika Nanni.” On the screens shows a sweet looking girl with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail and deep blue eyes.

She walks onto the stage cheerfully, a huge smile worn across her face. She twirls as she comes to a stop.

Lionheart keeps going. “Noto Amet.” The image changes to a girl with light pink hair in two braids off the sides of her head, and dark pink eyes.

The girl stands up, almost in shock and runs to the stage excitedly, where the other girl, Mika, gives her a hug.

He reads the next name. “Brena Tori.” The screen changes to show a girl with an unreadable expression. She has long, raven black hair, and deep emerald eyes.

Mura watches as she stands up and starts calmly walking to the stage. Her expression shows absolutely no amount of excitement or joy for being accepted, or really any emotion at all, she just elegantly walks up and stares out into the crowd with a distant gaze.

Mura tilts her head in confusion, but shrugs it off.

Lionheart continues. “Rozu Yujin.” Now the screens show a boy with a simple smile, like he didn’t like getting the picture taken. He has black hair and amber eyes.

He rushes onto the stage and he also is met with a big hug from Mika.

Mura chuckles. “Someone’s popular.” She says quietly and smiles.

The next name Lionheart calls is Nave, Raine’s brother. His image appears on the screens. He’s just as she remembers. He’s wearing a confident smirk. He has the same dark blue hair and eyes as Raine, which makes sense since they’re twins. But unlike Raine, he has a fluffy blue wolf tail.

He walks up to the stage with a failed attempt at being cool. Raine punches his shoulder and pulls him into a hug. Mura smiles at the siblings.

Lionheart reads the next few names, which don’t really peak Mura’s interest, but the next one takes her by surprise, and not in a good way.

“Aka Kirai.” Lionheart announces.

Aka’s picture comes up on the screens. She looks just as confident and snarky as ever. Mura remembers her look well, with her crimson red hair and wolf tail, like Nave’s. As well as her silver eyes.

Aka walks onto the stage with confidence, but a frown instead of a smile like most of the others had, minus that Brena girl.

Mura doesn’t even have a reaction to her being here. She just stares at her with her eyes wide and jaw slack.

The next name is another one she recognizes. “Sayu Hanta.” He was with Aka and Nave the night she met Kiro. He helped Nave beat her up, so she’s not too fond of him either.

His image comes up. He has white hair and wolf ears, and dark brown eyes. He is simply smiling, but doesn’t seem uncomfortable. He just looks ‘normal‘.

He walks up to the stage with a cool stride, and actually manages to pull it off where Nave failed.

A few more names go by, but the Lionheart comes up on one that instantly makes her jump from her seat.

“Murasaki Oris.” He announces. Her picture comes up on the screen.

Her legs feel wobbly as she makes her way through the rows of seats in the crowd and starts walking up the steps. Raine runs over to her and throws her arms around her shoulders, trapping her in a big hug. “You did it!!” She exclaims joyously.

Raine lets her go, and Mura stares off and smiles into the crowd.

Lionheart comes upon the final name, and just hearing it fills Mura with a pleasant warmth. All fear and doubt she had previously felt disappears the instant she hears it. And then sees him.

“And lastly… Kiro Nezumi.”

(Day has come after night.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, cliffhanger!
> 
> I’m really happy with how volume 1 turned out, and I’m excited to see how the future volumes go as well. Again, as I had mentioned in chapter 1, this story currently has 13 volumes, and pushing 14. This is just my re-written version since the story is pretty old and was poorly written. I don’t plan on stopping it until the actual end of the series. I would love hearing what you thought about volume 1, and even letting me know where I can improve for future volumes. 
> 
> If you enjoyed the story so far, thank you for giving it a chance, and I hope you stick around for volume 2 on October 31st. What better way to celebrate Halloween than locking myself away from civilization and writing until I can’t think anymore? _Nothing_.
> 
> :)


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